Within Shadow Is Light
by Darkclarkson
Summary: Upon learning that Lord Voldermort had a hand in his creation, Shadow The Hedgehog sets off to Britain in order to discover the final part of his identity. There, he meets a young witch who helps him to rediscover his life. AU. ON HOLD.
1. A Pain That I'm Used To

Hello, and welcome to Within Shadow Is Light.

Now, a brief bit of background, I decided, on a sort of spur-of-the-moment idea, to do a Sonic The Hedgehog and Harry Potter crossover. How long it will last remains to be seen, but the simple tale is that it follows the events of Shadow The Hedgehog, or rather, it negates the final scene in which Shadow vows to leave his past behind. In this incarnation, Shadow learns that Voldermort also had a hand in his creation and as a result, sets out to bury his past once and for all, along with the usual suspects chipping in to occasionally help. I have also merged together the timelines of both franchises; since there was never really a designated time or date system in the Sonic franchise, this was easier than I anticipated. The timeline is as follows:

1926: Birth of Tom Riddle.

1932: Birth of Maria Robotnik.

1937: The United Federation secretly launches the Space Colony ARK. Its main purpose is to be able to monitor the movements and communications of Nazi Germany.

1939: The Second World War begins.

1945: The Second World War ends. G.U.N. is formed.

1946: Birth of Shadow aboard the ARK. The Black Comet passes Earth. Tom Riddle arrives on the ARK and departs after striking a bargain with Black Doom. Shortly afterwards, G.U.N. forces attack the ARK and kill Maria Robotnik. Gerald Robotnik is imprisoned and later executed by the United Federation having been accused of aiding Nazi Germany. Shadow is imprisoned on Prison Island.

1950: Birth of Julian Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik.

1973: Eggman receives his Doctorate.

1979: Birth of Hermione Granger.

1980: Birth of Harry Potter and Sonic The Hedgehog.

1981: Downfall of Lord Voldermort. The Order of the Phoenix disbands. Construction on the Death Egg begins.

1989: First battle between Sonic The Hedgehog and Doctor Eggman.

1991: Events of Sonic The Hedgehog, Sonic The Hedgehog 2, Sonic CD and Philosopher's Stone.

1992: Events of Sonic The Hedgehog 3, Sonic & Knuckles, Philosopher's Stone and Chamber of Secrets.

1993: Events of Sonic The Hedgehog 4, Sonic Adventure, Chamber of Secrets and Prisoner of Azkaban.

1994: Events of Sonic Adventure 2, Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire.

1995: Events of Sonic Heroes, Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix.

1996: Events of Last Story of Sonic Heroes, Shadow The Hedgehog, Order of the Phoenix and Within Shadow Is Light.

Needless to say, this story is AU and that I don't get anything from this except personal satisfaction when I eventually finish the damn thing.

And so begins our story: Within Shadow Is Light. I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog or Harry Potter: they belong to SEGA and JK Rowling. The characters may be slightly OOC, but hey, this is fanfiction. The entire story is already planned out, but if you have any idea where you would like it to go, please do share.

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><p>"Expect problems and eat them for breakfast" - Alfred A. Montapert<p>

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><p>Magic.<p>

Shadow had previously laughed at such a childish notion, the thought that such a force existed in the world, a sort of psychic power that presided over creation. He had always believed in statistics, facts, mathematical numbers written down. This was before he had lost all of his memory, been double-crossed more times than he could remembered, and been forced to confront a demonic nightmare claiming to be his biological parent, of course. Now, he was ready and willing to believe in almost anything.

The thing was, magic would not have been very high on this list, but dying words had quickly sent him on a new and unexpected adventure. The previous two months had passed by in a blur of destruction and pain, chaos and fear, culminating in a violent and intense battle with the monstrosity known as Devil Doom. The fight had destroyed what had remained of Central City, the structures crumbling with speed. After a straight hour, Shadow, in his Super Form, had managed to throw the beast to the ground and had quickly set about removing the spaceship known as the Black Comet that had carried the thousands-strong force of Black Arms soldiers, off the planet. He had cast it back into space where he had shattered it with the Eclipse Cannon, attached to the ARK. Following this he had been prepared to leave his past behind, bury it far above in the stratosphere, but he had been forced to return once more to confront the being that had given him life.

000

"You did better than I anticipated," said Black Doom weakly as he lay in the rubble of a skyscraper, impaled on a steel rod from a window frame. His three eyes glanced down at the spike that was sticking out of his chest with various parts of his insides coating it and he half closed them.

"Better than anticipated," he repeated. Shadow looked down at him from his perch above on a piece of upturned tarmac.

"Why? Did you think that I would just submit to your will like that? I have my own will, and have no intention of acting contrary to it," he said angrily. "You believed that everything was correct with your master plan, yet you overlooked one important factor; me."

"It seems that I did," said Black Doom; Shadow was sure that he could detect a hint of sorrow in the voice and he leapt down to crouch next to the alien warlord. "I didn't expect you to rebel. In fact, I believed that the psychic connection was almost unbeatable."

"Well, I'm not exactly your spawn," said Shadow irritably, looking away. "You helped Gerald Robotnik create me, therefore, I am not wholly yours."

"That's not what I meant."

Shadow's head snapped round quickly but Black Doom was having a coughing fit, bringing up greenish blood with a tint of black to it. He tried to lift an arm to his face, but did not have the energy and instead sank further down the pole.

"Wait, what did you say?" said Shadow, looking outraged; normally, he kept his temper, but all of his emotions were beginning to come to the boil after a painful eight months. "Are you implying that he didn't even have a hand in creating me?"

"No, he was most certainly your creator. But..." Black Doom paused for a moment as he slid downwards again and his eyes shifted in pain. "I made a separate bargain with another party."

Shadow stared, stunned, as his mind kicked into overdrive.

"Another... party?" he echoed hollowly as he stared at the dying creature.

"A human," continued Black Doom. "A young man. He was possessed of some... divine power. Magic, I believe it would be called. He did things that I never believed could have been done by humans; shapes beyond the face of existence, disruptions of reality. He sought me out before the deal had been struck, and gave me a power, the power to be able to enter your mind."

"The power to possess me?" Shadow stated; the three eyes, for a moment of clarity, stared at him unblinkingly and the head slowly nodded.

"Indeed. He created a mind link with my blood and his own that would allow me control over you after your creation. He had promised that it would work; in return, the deal had been struck that he would receive something in return."

"What?" asked Shadow, although he felt that he might already know the answer; his suspicions were confirmed moments later.

"The Chaos Emeralds. He demanded the Chaos Emeralds. I promised that upon my return, I would deliver them personally." He coughed again and Shadow saw his eyelids drop.

"We both used the Emeralds to transform, you and I," he interjected and Black Doom nodded again.

"And, in your haste to rid this planet of my brethren, you blew up the Black Comet, where they rested. Which means that they have fallen to Earth again."

"Shit!" exclaimed Shadow, standing up and aiming a kick at a rock. He only swore violently on occasions of great frustration and the fact that he had managed to lose the Emeralds again was one of those reasons. He turned to Black Doom who was watching him intently.

"Such pointless emotions you have. If only you had let me guide you..."

"Never," replied Shadow defiantly as he crouched back down again next to Black Doom. "But you can still be of some use to me, if I am to discover my past. What was the name of this human?"

"Are you seeking revenge?" asked Black Doom quizzically. Shadow shook his head.

"No. I am seeking my freedom. Now tell me, who was this person?"

Black Doom's eyes closed; for a moment, Shadow had thought that he had already died, but they opened again slowly and he spoke in a raspy tone.

"Riddle. His name was Tom Riddle. Although, he did not call himself so."

"A moniker?" asked Shadow, intrigued that a human would take an alternate name; the only people he knew who had done that were generally megalomaniac dictators.

"A moniker. He was known as Lord Voldermort. That was how he introduced himself to me. I only found out his real name through probing his mind, although his shields were far more advanced than any I had ever seen."

Shadow stood and took two steps back.

"I could put you out of your misery," he said darkly. "But there is more that I would like to know."

"And know, you shall," said Black Doom. "Unlike you and I, who are now the last of our kind, he lives amongst a thriving community of people like himself. They are called wizards and witches; humans able to manipulate the powers similar to ourselves for their own use. They can conjure fire, water, read minds, create shields and so forth. They are a minority but all hold the power to smite down galaxies. In fact, with my death, I wouldn't be surprised if the wizarding world began to widen its influence. I was seen as some sort of demonic apparition that stopped them from progressing beyond their own reach. A folk legend, if you understand the term. I don't; I presume it means God in a foreign tongue."

"And this Voldermort, why does he want the Emeralds?" asked Shadow, folding his arms.

"The same reason why the Emeralds are desired by all others. Power. They are absolute power. They will bring the holder a certain level of immortality. You were created, the Ultimate Life Form, with the power of the Emeralds. Now just imagine what else that power could be used for."

Shadow mused for a moment and came to the conclusion that if this wizard, or whatever he was, had the Emeralds, he would certainly wield some power. And, if he had struck a deal with Black Doom, it would probably not be the power of granting goodwill to all men.

"So, where is he?" he asked as Black Doom let out a soft groan; he would not last much longer.

"In a collection of countries called the British Isles," the creature replied softly. "They are friends of the United Federation. It is where he resided, when I last heard."

"Which was?"

"Fifty years ago, you fool," said Black Doom softly. "And that is all." He sighed and looked down at himself again before he fixed his gaze on Shadow.

"This is the end. As my creation, Shadow, you have the honour."

Shadow nodded and he walked round until he was facing Black Doom directly. He stared with an intense cold hatred burning in his fiery ruby-red eyes. He clicked his fingers and a bolt of energy appeared in his right glove. Black Doom's gaze flickered to it before he looked Shadow directly in the eyes.

"Finish it."

Shadow slipped his arm forward and the bolt of energy pierced Black Doom's central eye and vanished into it. The eyes glassed over, the gaze fixed at something he could no longer see. A single line of blood began to slowly trickle downwards, vanishing into the top of the ornate jewellery.

There was no cry for mercy. Only the sound of silence.

000

That was a week ago. Now, Shadow stood in the hallway of G.U.N. Headquarters in a city in the British Isles. It was the capital, and it appeared to Shadow to be a more old-fashioned version of Central City, with the exception being that none of it had been destroyed. For reasons unknown, the Black Arms had focused solely on the United Federation and its surrounding countries; the British Isles was half the world away. Its people were nothing out of the ordinary: men in business suits, women in dresses, children laughing and playing happily together. It reminded Shadow of Maria, a painful topic which he doubted he would ever be able to touch on again. He had been fully intending to let it all go, but the revelation of a third wheel had meant that unfinished business still remained.

Getting out of the United Federation unnoticed had been a problem in its own right. Shadow was the hero now; he had triumphed where G.U.N., Sonic and Doctor Eggman had all failed in their attempts to halt the Black Arms, although admittedly, Eggman's reasoning had been less than sound to say the least. The media had been all over him. However, he had managed to divert most of the attention by announcing that he had been working with G.U.N. from the very beginning and that he had been in close connection with the Commander. The Commander himself had quickly realized what Shadow's intentions were and had formally made him a Captain of G.U.N as well as a Special Field Agent. After Shadow had explained his situation, the Commander had been able to organize a media blackout under the premise that Shadow was leaving the country on a mission. The storm had calmed and Shadow had left virtually unnoticed.

Virtually.

Sonic had been concerned for Shadow's welfare and had found him in London two days prior. Shadow's views on Sonic had changed considerably; their rivalry remained but after the traumatic experiences they had undergone in the past two months, Shadow felt more bonded to him. It wasn't just Sonic though, it was everyone; Rouge, Omega, Knuckles, Vector, the Commander, even Eggman. They had all been in it together and they had somehow come through unscathed. For that, Shadow's attitude had softened.

But not much.

He had told Sonic that he didn't need his help, which Sonic had muttered about. On the other hand, he had backed down and agreed to send Rouge and Omega to help him if he needed it. Shadow had been surprised that Sonic was willing to back out of an adventure, but then he had realized that he was simply waiting for the go-ahead; letting in Shadow's two closest friends, even if one was a robot and the other a thief, would make him feel less at ease.

And that was what Shadow needed, after he had read up on Tom Riddle.

Shadow had gained access through G.U.N. intelligence into a place known as Diagon Alley in the capital. He had gone quickly to a library and immersed himself in the section of Dark Arts and History. There had been no-one else there except for a teenage girl with large bushy hair, but Shadow had not paid her any notice as he had begun to study his latest enemy. There had been nothing about Tom Riddle in the books he had procured, but Voldermort had been all over them, none of it very good. From what shadow had been able to gather, Voldermort was easily considered to have been the greatest threat ever to the world of magic. His reign of terror had started roughly around twenty five years earlier had started to grow until, fifteen years ago, he had been defeated. Since then, he had vanished, although from what Shadow had learnt through newspaper cuttings, had recently resurfaced in the midst of Britain's turmoil over the UF's involvement with the Black Arms.

There was an interesting bit that Shadow kept on coming back to though. Voldermort had been able to smite magic-users wizards and witches with apparent ease. Yet he had fallen at the hands of a one-year-old child by the name of Harry Potter. The history books were unable to work out, although there seemed to be a story between all the muddled truths and half-facts. Shadow had left the library, taken all of this information and retired to G.U.N.'s headquarters in London, somewhere near the British Government's Base of International Operations in Whitehall.

He received a pleasant surprise when he got there. As he entered the conference room designated for his use, he found Rouge waiting for him, leant back on a chair, with Omega stood opposite her, his red lights fixed on the door.

"_Target… processing… ally… identifying… Shadow The Hedgehog_."

"I could have told you that much, you piece of metal," said Rouge irritably and Shadow laughed. She fixed him with an annoyed look. "You've got no idea how bad it is to spend two hours in a room with a robot who is programmed to shoot anything and everything with an IQ above minus thirty."

Shadow laughed again and walked over and sat next to Rouge. He set the various books and cuttings down on the table and firmly grasped her gloved hand.

"Sorry I didn't tell you I was going," he said, with a slight hint of remorse. "I just had to go."

"No problem," she said, smiling, returning his handshake. "But next time, I'd rather hear it from you personally."

"Sonic tell you?" asked Shadow as he sat down and leant back in his chair, glancing at Rouge. She nodded.

"I was at Headquarters and he gave me a call to say that you were in London. So I came and you can't leave Omega unsupervised; he'd blow up the entire country."

"_I would not!_" came Omega's grating metallic voice. He paused, and then continued a shade reproachfully. "_Well, maybe_."

"Yeah, precisely my point," said Rouge rolling her eyes; Omega shifted uncomfortably, if that was even possible for a robot whilst Shadow laughed again as he sat back up to look at the pair.

"Sorry to cut you two off, but if you're here, you may as well help me piece together this story I have here," he interjected as he began to spread out the various documents. "I found a whole load on this guy who apparently has some desire for the Emeralds-"

"_It always comes back to the Emeralds,_" muttered Omega, as he moved over to the table to look at the top picture; one of Voldermort that had apparently been taken only four months prior, according to its date.

"That's mainly because they're stupidly powerful," said Rouge in an offhand tone. "You've seen what Shadow and Sonic can do with just one; I imagine that this… Voldermort, or whatever he's called could probably do either equal or more damage with one too. Heaven's knows if he gets all seven."

"Don't remind me," muttered Shadow as he pulled a book from near the bottom of the jumbled mess. "I scattered the Emeralds and don't even have one. For all we know, he may have one. Or Eggman might."

"Hey…" Rouge paused. "That's not a bad idea. Why don't we ask if the good doctor has one?"

"_Are you being serious?_" said Omega, and his tone suggested that he was less than willing to agree to this suggestion.

"Yep. We're not asking him to give it if he has one. We can just steal it if he does."

"_But if he doesn't, then he will know they are missing too. Everyone bar us and Sonic believes that Shadow has the Emeralds_."

"Sorry to disappoint you Omega, but Rouge has a point," said Shadow, musing over the idea. "If he does, we'll have saved ourselves no end of time. And, if Eggman starts looking for them, then we can get on his back and beat him to it."

Omega was silent for a moment before he spoke again.

"_Very well. But I volunteer Rouge for this mission. If I go near him, he'll be dead too quickly for his purpose_."

"Agreed," said Shadow, turning back to Rouge. "You haven't got a say I'm afraid, but how hard can it be for the world's greatest treasure hunter to find it?"

"You always know how to sugar-coat it for me," said Rouge, winking as she stood up. "I'll report back as soon as I know. Ta-ta, boys."

She walked out of the room, then stopped in the doorway.

"Will you guys want an extra set of hands sending in?"

Shadow shook his head. "I'm not giving Sonic the satisfaction just yet. Later maybe, but not now."

"Okay." She left the room and the door slid shut behind her, leaving Shadow and Omega to study the dossiers they had obtained on their latest target.

"_Do you think that he will have an Emerald?_" asked Omega quizzically.

"He has sensors and scanners all over the world. If one of them so much as gets near the border of his radius, he'll be on it. Like a child drawn to candy."

Omega was silent again and instead started mechanically moving individual pieces of the newspaper cuttings into a timeline. Shadow opened the book he was holding and flicked through the pages until he reached the section about Voldermort. He started to read, but was interrupted by Omega again.

"_Shadow..._"

"Yes?"

"_What if this Voldermort already has an Emerald?_"

Shadow stopped dead and looked Omega directly in the face as his mind started to kick up a notch. It was a possibility. What if Voldermort already had a Chaos Emerald? He shuddered as he remembered Black Doom's description and what all the books had told him. It didn't warrant thinking about.

There was a knock on the door. Both Shadow and Omega swung round to face it, and Omega instinctively raised his machine gun arm.

"_Target acquired... door... proceed to destroy.._."

"Well that's not very nice" came Rouge's voice from the other side.

"_Sorry... Target... False alarm.._." said Omega, who turned back to the table as the door opened.

"Either you were really quick," said Shadow as Rouge walked back into the room, clutching a newspaper to her chest. "Or you haven't even gone yet."

"It's the last one," she said; she sounded slightly breathless. "But we have a new target. I guess we don't have to go find where Eggman is because one of the Emeralds is right under our noses."

She dropped the newspaper onto the table where Shadow and Omega both peered over.

"What's a killer granny got to do with this quest?" asked Shadow confusedly.

"Not the headline, the box near the bottom."

Shadow and Omega lowered their gaze to an advertisement for a museum. Then, the both saw the picture of a familiar looking jewel.

"The green Chaos Emerald, guys."

"In London?" asked Shadow.

"In the British Museum. Part of an exhibition on rare and prestigious items." She gave a wink. "Just my type of exhibition as well."

"You work for the government now Rouge, you can't go around stealing everything," said Shadow, grinning as he traced his finger over the advertisement. "Although, you could try to get it officially sanctioned if you wanted to."

"Nah, where's the fun it that, boys?" said Rouge, winking again. "The entire thrill is not getting caught."

"_But how are we going to acquire the Chaos Emerald?_" asked Omega.

"We just ask the British to give it to us, on behalf of G.U.N.?" supposed Shadow

"They'll need an exchange of something. The British won't want to lose something like that" said Rouge.

"_And I think telling them that they have a homicidal maniac who can use magic on the loose will not help matters_" interjected Omega. Shadow and Rouge both looked at him incredulously.

"Omega, was that... sarcasm?" said Rouge, stunned.

"If it was, I think it was unintentional" answered Shadow, also stunned.

"There's something else," said Rouge, turning to Shadow. "G.U.N. only know of wizards because they have your testimony. What if the British Government already know?"

Shadow thought for a moment.

"That makes sense. The British Government must know because I was able to get to Diagon Alley and no-one battered an eyelid. Well, the woman in the library did, and said something about concealment tricks. And there was another girl in there, who kept on looking at me as if she seemed to recognize me..."

"People will, Shadow, after the Black Arms. Even if it didn't happen here, people will remember it." Rouge looked at the clock on the wall, which as showing the time as quarter past five in the evening. "I vote we go ask G.U.N. to organize a meeting with the British Government concerning this Emerald and see if they know what it's all about. Agreed?"

"_Affirmative_."

"Agreed."

"Excellent. Now, I vote that we go and get something to eat. Or rather I do, since you two don't need food to survive."

"I know I don't," said Shadow. "But I can't resist a good peppercorn steak."

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><p>AN: Well, that's the first chapter done! This is coming along quite well for me. Credit to Tutups for their beta-reading, and thank you to you, the reader, for actually bothering to read this. Stay tuned for the next chapter, coming soon!


	2. Wrong

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog or Harry Potter: they belong to SEGA and JK Rowling.

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><p>"The more I see, the less I know for sure" - John Lennon<p>

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><p>Hermione Granger was annoyed with herself.<p>

Of course, she got annoyed with herself quite often, usually when she couldn't work out a translation in Ancient Runes, or an unexpected combination in Charms, but she often found ways to get round those minor problems with ease. Occasionally, she would stay behind after class to ask her professor the question she had dared not to ask in front of her peers. It wasn't that she was trying to keep her appearance up as being incredibly smart and self-centred to the Slytherins; it was just that she got embarrassed easily by asking questions in class, something else she would not admit to.

No, this time she was annoyed with herself because of something else entirely.

She had been sitting in the library in Diagon Alley doing a bit of light reading before she was due to return home, when, to her surprise, a black hedgehog had walked in.

At first, she had paid no attention, but then had found herself inexplicably drawn towards the hedgehog. It wasn't everyday that a talking black hedgehog wearing gloves, shoes and jewellery walked into a library, even if it was a magical library.

She was positive that she had seen the hedgehog somewhere before no less, but had been unable to place a finger on it. Instead, she had covertly stolen glances at the hedgehog as he had pored over old copies of the Prophet and looked through the history books in the Dark Arts section. Occasionally, he had glanced up, and she had quickly hidden herself behind her book so as not to be seen, but he had never seemed to be focused on her, rather taking in the surroundings as if it was a completely new experience for him.

Whilst in the Wizarding World, which had been on the brink of civil war, with Dumbledore trying to dissuade Fudge from his current course, Hermione had not paid as much attention to the letters her parents had sent her. If she had, she probably would have known who the hedgehog was. But as she hadn't, she had been left musing whom the hedgehog was since he had left the library, carrying a bag full of the various books and papers he had been browsing. She had been tempted to follow, but had restrained herself; if she took to stalking people, or hedgehogs for that matter, she would be no better than any of her silly roommates. Instead, she had finished the book, placed it back on the shelf, left the library, departed Diagon Alley and taken the tube back to her house.

When she had got home, she had briefly greeted her parents who were on their way out for a meal with some old friends, before she had gone upstairs to her room and laid down on her bed, staring at the ceiling, lost in deep thought.

That was when it had hit her. She had seen the hedgehog before.

She had raced downstairs, into the front room and found the newspaper from a few days ago. She skimmed through it to the World News section and found the picture she was looking for. She carried the paper over to the kitchen table and smoothed it out.

It was a picture of two hedgehogs. One hedgehog was blue. He had emerald green eyes which reminded her of Harry, long quills at the back of his head that dropped down, a tan coloured stomach and muzzle, white gloves and red shoes with a white and gold buckle design. He was grinning goofily and had a thumb up to the camera.

The other hedgehog didn't look nearly as cheerful as his counterpart. He did not wear a scowl, nor a smile; something in between. He was black-furred with patches of red; his quills pointed skyward, in an almost gravity-defying manner; he had a tan muzzle, and white fur underneath his neck; he wore gloves and large, heavy gold rings round his wrists and white shoes, with a flaking red trim. He stood with his arms crossed, his face the mingled expression of triumph and anger.

Hermione looked at the caption. It read "Sonic and Shadow The Hedgehog, shortly after the defeat of Black Doom, in front of G.U.N.'s Central Headquarters." The sentence indicated that the black one was, fittingly, the one called Shadow and that his counterpart was Sonic.

Hermione had heard of Sonic; he had been seen in Britain occasionally and had once even passed her whilst she was on the motorway with her parents as he grinded the central rail between the individual carriageways. He was seen as a worldwide hero for Muggles, particularly in the United Federation, fighting his nemesis whose name she couldn't remember. But this Shadow was a mystery, as if he had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Hermione was fixed on him, like an obsession. It was as if he was teasing her. Why was Shadow in Diagon Alley? And what was he doing studying the Dark Arts, if he was meant to be a hero? How did he even know how to get into the wizarding world?

A horrific though struck Hermione like a shard of ice. What if Shadow was working for Voldermort? What if the two were in league and his heroic actions was simply a cover-up to conceal his true motives.

Standing at the table, she considered sending an owl to Harry and Ron. But then she figured that it would be no good talking to either of them. Harry would probably still be suffering the after-effects of Sirius's death and Ron would think she had gone mad if she started going on about talking black hedgehogs. It meant that she couldn't talk to her two best friends on this topic. She was alone.

She started to pace the front room as she turned the questions over in her head. Why was Shadow even here to start with? There had to be a reason for that.

Hermione Granger decided that she would cancel her plans to go with her family to the coast the following day, under the premise that she had work to do. She had to find out as much as she could about this mysterious Shadow The Hedgehog, especially if he was a danger. It may have been an individual fixation that no-one else would understand, but she could not rest until she knew the truth why a mysterious black hedgehog had suddenly appeared in her world.

000

"_Well_," said Omega as he, Shadow and Rouge left their meeting with the British Government. "_That worked out alright for us_."

"Alright?" said Rouge angrily, glaring daggers at the other two.

Shadow gave a shrug. "It's called diplomacy, Rouge, it's how politics works."

"Shadow, do you have _any_ idea how long I was looking for that ruby?" snapped Rouge.

"I do actually," said Shadow turning to Rouge with an irritated expression. "And I wish you'd bloody shut up about it. So, you lost a ruby. But-"

"It was the most expensive ruby in the world," said Rouge hissed through gritted teeth.

"But we got a Chaos Emerald out of it," Shadow pointed out, holding up the jewel in question. "It wasn't like the British were going to just hand it over without something in return."

They had met the British Government to discuss the Emerald. As it transpired, they had been correct about the government having knowledge of wizards in Britain, but they were bound to secrecy as a nation. When Shadow had explained the situation, the government had agreed that Shadow could have the Emerald, providing that a suitable amount of compensation was found. The sum they had suggested to cover the loss of tourism revenue due to the absence of the Emerald had been so high that Shadow had been surprised it was worth that much. Then, to Rouge's annoyance, Omega had brought up the topic of the Magma Ruby, the world's rarest, largest and most expensive ruby. The British had changed their conditions quickly; the ruby, or no deal. Grudgingly, after much coaxing from Shadow and Omega, Rouge had turned over the ruby but was still outraged with the way Shadow and Omega had used it as currency

"I still can't believe you did that to me," Rouge said, before swearing loudly, most of it directed at Omega.

"_Language, Rouge,_" replied the robot, who was clearly unaffected by the outburst. Shadow suspected this was because as good as a fighter Rouge was, she was unable to match either of them for sheer power.

"Look, if it makes you feel any better, you can look after it," said Shadow and he threw the Emerald to Rouge who caught it one-handed. "There, feel better?"

"Maybe," she answered sharply, but her tone and features had softened slightly.

"Good," said Shadow as they walked down the corridor towards the exit. He paused and looked at a clock on the wall; it wasn't even midday. "Well, I think I'm going to call a lunch break. Rouge?"

"No thanks Shadow, I'm still too hurt by your betrayal," replied Rouge with a small smile. "I'll have forgiven you later. Besides, I need to go report to the Commander about our successful acquisition."

"Suit yourself. Omega, care to come for something to eat?"

"No. I have to go get maintenance."

"You're all bloody hopeless," muttered Shadow. "I'll just get myself something then. And probably go to the library, there's still a wealth of stuff I haven't looked at yet."

"You enjoy that, then," said Rouge winking. "What time are you back?"

"When I've done," said Shadow, grinning. "I'll catch you guys later."

He walked out of the white building that was G.U.N. Headquarters and into the main road through Whitehall. He looked down and around at the passing traffic, then sped off in the direction of Charring Cross and the Leaky Cauldron.

000

Hermione arrived at the library just as Shadow had been going into his meeting with G.U.N. She had headed for a large section of the library which might have been built for her; the Muggle section. It contained books, both fact and fiction, but all written by respected Muggle authors. She immediately headed toward the World Modern History section and browsed for the section on the United Federation. She found a book that covered the history of G.U.N. and decided that it would be a good starting point. She sat herself down in an armchair and started on the book.

After an hour's solid reading, Hermione believed she had a relatively good grasp of G.U.N. as an organisation. They had originally been formed as an international peacekeeping force, post-WWII. They had replaced the original idea of a force called NATO but stemmed from the same general idea of unity. Over twenty countries were officially part of G.U.N., including four of the G7 nations with the remaining three, including Britain, serving as auxiliary bases for the force. They had never been involved in full blown open war, although they had fought in several conflicts against other countries, most recently the War in Sierra Leone. They were currently led by Commander Michael Morgan, a Canadian veteran who had served in over ten of G.U.N.'s involvements since he joined in 1958. They had twice been tried under the Human Rights Act for their failure to prevent genocide in African countries. And that was roughly it. The book was too early to cover the previous fifteen months and as a result had missed out most of the information on the Black Arms invasion. However, Hermione found that information in various magazines, including foreign newspapers, that told her about the most recent conflict.

Yet Shadow was harder to trace.

Over the following hour, she cobbled together a rough story. She didn't know about Shadow's creation or origin, but found that he had been first recorded in history as being partly responsible for the destruction of Prison Island off the coast of the United Federation, a responsibility jointly shared with Doctor Eggman.

Hermione got slightly sidetracked at this point as she remembered that Doctor Eggman was the nemesis of Sonic The Hedgehog. But that didn't make any sense either. Why would an ally of Sonic also be an ally of his enemy? The mysteries kept on piling up.

After two and a half hours, Hermione noticed that it was almost lunchtime so she decided to see what she could find, out and about, in Diagon Alley. She folded the corner down of the current book she was reading and placed at a slight angle on the shelf so she would know which one it was when she returned, hoping that the Liberian wouldn't alter it. She picked up her bag, swung it over her left shoulder and exited the library.

It was as she exited the library and began to cross the Alley that Hermione realized something was off. Despite the noise and the crowds, she felt as if she could hear footsteps behind her. She paused and stopped and so did the footsteps. She took a single on forward and heard three behind her.

She wouldn't remember what had prompted her to duck, but it was a smart decision. As she crouched, three jets of red light flew over her head and smashed into the brickwork in front of her. Around, screams erupted and she spun on the spot to see her followers; three tall men, clad in identical robes of black with masks of silver.

Death Eaters. And they were here for her.

Hermione stumbled back slightly as the three Death Eaters advanced on her, leering. All around her, people were running terrified around the Alley, screaming for loved ones, ducking into the nearest building, or simply disapparating away as fast as they could. It never occurred to Hermione to attempt escape simply because she knew she would never get ten yards before one of them shot her down in cold blood. Instead, she kept her wand arm outstretched in front of her, keeping it trained on the trio in front of her as they moved closer.

"There's no point tryin' to save yourself, darlin'," said the Death Eater on her left. "We've got our orders to kill you, you filthy little bleedin' Mudblood. Consider it payback from our friends from what happened at the Ministry."

"If you're going to try to kill me," said Hermione, her voice shaky. "Then I'm not going down without a fight."

"Suit yourself," shrugged the Death Eater on her right. "If you want us to make it messy, fine by us."

All three raised their wands until they were directly at eye level with Hermione. She starred at them with a sort of fascinated horror as they hovered only a few inches from her face. She looked around quickly to see if there was anyone but to no avail; the Alley appeared to be completely deserted. She returned her gaze to the men in front of her and clutched at her wand with her free hand to steady it. Her bag began to slide from her shoulder. She shut her eyes.

"Ava-"

"Hey there."

The voice was no louder than normal, yet it carried, magnified, through the almost empty street. Hermione's head whipped round to the left, the Death Eaters' to the right to see a figure that had not been stood there but a moment ago.

Hermione gasped.

Shadow.

He stood at his full height, his right arm crossed over his chest, his left dangling loosely at his side, the tips of his glove brushing the top of his shoe, the rings glinting in the sunlight from above. He wore a neutral expression, his features black, yet he looked alert, aware of every moment and whisper around him.

It certainly surprised the Death Eaters. Being purebloods meant that they had never heard of Shadow, Sonic or G.U.N. ever. It also meant that they were unfamiliar with talking hedgehogs of human proportions.

"Who the bleedin' hell are you?" asked the Death Eater on Hermione's left, the one closest to Shadow. "What the hell do you want?"

"My name is Shadow. Shadow The Hedgehog," replied Shadow coolly, eyeing the Death Eaters with a idle gaze as he unfolded his arm and let it drop to his side. "And I'd like you to step away from that girl right now."

The Death Eaters exchanged glances, looked at Hermione, then turned back to face Shadow, keeping their wands trained on him. Hermione wondered if she would be able to make a run for it, but found herself paralyzed not by fear anymore, but by curiosity.

"Oh yeah?" said the closest Death Eater, raising his voice angrily. "And what bleedin' right has a talkin' hedgehog have to tell me what to do?"

"No right at all," Shadow answered calmly, although Hermione saw him slowly close his right fist. "But I think your scheme of intimidation is rather in bad taste. So I will give you a choice. Either you step away from the girl this instant and leave, or I shall kill each of you. Understand?"

The Death Eaters stared at Shadow, then at each other, then back at Shadow.

"And just how do you intend on killin' us, eh?" asked the Death Eater in a mocking tone.

"Like this," said Shadow. He pulled his right arm back and threw it forward so quickly that it didn't seem to move at all. Hermione had thought that she had simply just imagined it had happened. Then she turned her gaze to the Death Eater and had to stifled a gasp.

Sticking out of the Death Eater's robe was what could only be described as a bolt of energy. It was roughly three inches in diameter, and shaped like an arrow head. It glowed bright yellow and was deeply embedded in the Death Eater. He looked down at it with a certain degree of surprise, then simply keeled over onto the cobbled street, blood gushing from the wound.

The other two Death Eaters both stared at their fallen comrade, then immediately raised their wands at Shadow. Before they could even get the first syllable of a spell out of their mouths, they too had been hit by energy bolts and together as one, they fell and laid motionless on the ground with the first, blood spreading rapidly across the cobbles and into the gutter.

Hermione starred numbly at the bodies. Her eyes flickered to Shadow, then she blacked out.

000

Shadow had made it to Charring Cross quickly, although he wished he had not given the Emerald to Rouge as he would have been able to use Chaos Control to get there even quicker. However, having got their in a respectable time regardless, he had made his way inside the Leaky Cauldron.

Upon entering, he had nearly been knocked over by a mad rush of people as they had exited the pub at speed, forming a bottleneck. He had managed to regain his balance before he had done so and had quickly made it to the back of the pub where amongst the various voices, he had heard snippets of conversation as the crowd jostled.

"Death Eaters, three of them-"

"-cornered a girl, she's as good as-"

"-nothing we can do now."

Shadow instinctively knew that something was not wrong. Quickly, he turned and pushed against the tide of people, carving a path through the wizards and witches until he had fought his way out of the back of the pub. Once there, he had found himself in the small outlay where the G.U.N. agent had shown him how to get into Diagon Alley. He tapped the corresponding bricks and watched agitatedly as the wall fell away, brick by brick, to let him pass. He had hurried into the Alley and found the girl in questioned cornered by three men dressed in hoods and masks.

Shadow recognized the girl as the one he had seen in the library the previous day. She was trembling and looked scared out of her skin, with the men bearing down on her, and yet strangely defiant...

It was as if Shadow had been struck with a knife. He had seen this exact scene before, except it had been fifty years previously aboard the ARK and he had been unable to do anything to save her.

Not this time.

"Hey there."

He quickly dispatched of the men after some banter. He had given them a choice, yet he had known regardless of their decision, he would have to kill them. It was not revenge for Maria's death, it was simply removing a painful reminder. He watched as his last two Chaos Spears ripped into the chests of the remaining two men and they fell to the ground. He stood, his breathing slightly laboured by the energy he had had to use there.

He turned his glance to the girl, only to find she had dropped to the ground. He hurried over and placed a finger on her neck to find that she was still alive; she had only fainted.

He starred at her and felt a sense of déjà vu overcoming him as he looked down at the strained expression on the still body.

"Maria," he whispered softly to himself. "Why does it all come back to Maria?"

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><p>AN: thanks again to you, the reader, for giving this a chance. Next time: Shadow and Hermione meet each other properly for the first time!


	3. Policy of Truth

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog, or Harry Potter: they belong to SEGA and JK Rowling instead. Just my luck.

* * *

><p>"Friendship is a single soul dwelling in two bodies" - Aristotle<p>

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><p>In the central command chamber in the main tower of his secret base on an island just off the eastern coast of South Japan, Doctor Julian Ivo Robotnik, known better as Doctor Eggman, stretched back in his large rotating chair and whistled a dirge. He stared through his round, sapphire-tinted glasses at the large electronic red and yellow screen that hovered in front of him, projected from the metallic command desk that he sat behind. The various buttons flashed occasionally, signifying a new input but otherwise, the screen remained visibly static. In front of it was a railed balcony that gave way to a drop of around thirty feet, to where his Egg Pawns were busy assessing individual targets and furthering his various plans for world domination.<p>

Eggman watched the screen and continued whistling for a minute, before he sighed and dejectedly spun around on his chair to face the door that led to the lift down from the top of the building to the hub below. He slowly stood up and stretched his arms up and out, yawning, before he sloped over to the door. It slid open with a mechanical whir and as he left the room, the lights dimmed and various panels powered down. Eggman paid it a quick glance before the door locked behind him and he moved over to the lift. He pressed the button for it and entered. He jammed his gloved thumb over the button marked "LC" and checked his reflection in the mirror as it began to descend.

Eggman was approaching his forty-sixth birthday and he was beginning to feel his age. He had lost his hair long ago but now, his gingery-brown walrus-like moustache was beginning to grey; he had trimmed it ever so slightly to hide the damning evidence, but he still felt almost naked without those extra centimetres on the side. His red, gold-buttoned long-sleeved jacket was no longer the close fitting garment it had been before he had lost a few kilos. His weight had dropped the last few months, although not much; he suspected it was due to the stress of being under lock and key by Metal Sonic aboard the Egg Fleet, and then his conflict with the Black Arms. It had drained him both physically and emotionally. His black slick trousers and boots still fitted him perfectly, but Eggman wondered if the tight fitting garb of a supervillain was becoming an old school trend and whether at forty five, he was too old to pull it off.

The lift doors opened onto a short, surgically white corridor, with a surgically white door at the end. In his outfit of black and red, Eggman looked more like a flamboyant circus clown that had stumbled into the deepest depths of non-existence; the sense of no space, no time, no life, nothing at all. He briskly stepped out and forward, covering the hallway in less than ten seconds. He raised his fist and rapped twice in quick succession. At once, the door rose upwards, vanishing into the frame to reveal the Lower Command Center; similar in structure to his own Central Command Center but with much more of everything. Monitors, desks, dials, buttons, models, plans, electronic equipment and revolving chairs. Behind each was an Egg Pawn, working its machinery, flicking buttons, moving, whirring, speaking in mechanical tones. Eggman knew that in terms of combat, the Pawns were outclassed by nearly everything; the invasion had given him a wake-up call and the first thing he had done upon returning to his base was to draw up plans for a new generation of soldiers, which he had immediately put into mass production in his factory based off the coast of East Africa. He did not want to get rid of the Pawns though, so instead used them as manual labour around the base, as well as his off-field team in terms of planning and staging. It meant that if he ever went out himself into the fight, he would at least have an entire unit working back at his headquarters to keep it all from falling apart.

"_Good evening, doctor,_" said one of the Pawns as he passed. "_What brings you from the top_?"

"Boredom," replied Eggman glumly. "Just plain boredom. Here I am with an army ready for world conquest, yet I find myself constrained, unable to do it." He gestured with his arms, then let them fall again. "I could if I wanted, but I have no purpose at the moment. Nothing to search for. All I have is the same old plot to create Eggmanland, yet that no longer fulfils my ambition."

"_Doctor, be careful. You are slipping from tyranny into an unfocused state,_" replied the Pawn. Eggman glared at it, then looked at his feet.

"You are right, for once. My tyranny is failing. After the fiasco we've just had with Metal Sonic and the Black Arms, I no longer feel like a true villain. In fact, I feel as if I've done a half-arsed job with it all."

"_Do not be downbeat doctor. Just look at your list of technological feats. You built the Death Egg twice, the Egg Carrier, the Egg Fleet, the Empire, all of your robots. Not to mention the fact that you also defeated the Black Arms in aerial combat, something G.U.N. were unable to do_."

Eggman thought over the comments and realized what the Pawn was saying. Sure, he may not have had the most successful campaign recently but what he was being told was that it wasn't the end of the world. He was still a successful supervillain and certified genius, and he only had to look to his past to realize that.

"You're right, Pawn," he said, smiling. "I should not be downbeat. However, that does not still cure me of my boredom."

"_I think that I have an ideal remedy for that, doctor,_" said the Pawn as he turned back to its desk and rapidly typed in some data.

"Really?" said Eggman, surprised. Usually, his Pawns remained quiet unless they had found something that could really pique his interest.

"_We have discovered the location of one of the seven Chaos Emeralds_."

Behind his spectacles, Eggman's eyes lit up. "A Chaos Emerald, you say?"

"_Yes, doctor. The green Chaos Emerald. It has been located in the country of England, Europe_."

"England..." mumbled Eggman under his breath. "Get me a visual on where England is."

"_Yes, doctor_." The Pawn signalled to two others who flicked a combination of switches. On the screen in front of them, a world map flickered up and began to rapidly home in on Europe before closing in on the British Isles.

"So," said Eggman as he studied the various data pieces about population, government and currency which appeared onscreen. "The Chaos Emerald is somewhere in this country. Can we narrow it down at all?"

"_Just a minute, doctor_" said the Pawn again. It typed some numbers into a keypad and the screen zoomed in again. "_Southern England. Near the capital city known as London_."

"London?" said Eggman. "I believe I've heard of it. G.U.N. has an unofficial base there. They don't actually have a military presence if I remember correctly though."

"_No, but they are allowed to station agents there. Currently, Shadow The Hedgehog, Rouge The Bat and E-123 Omega are all on active mission service there_."

"All of them?" exclaimed Eggman. He looked intently at the screen. "I think this means that G.U.N. also has a handle on what is hidden in Britain. A Chaos Emerald, eh? That _is_ an opportunity I can't afford to miss."

"_Shall I prepare to send command to the Fleet, sir_?"

"No, don't," Eggman answered quickly. "If we send the Fleet in, we'll be instantly recognized _again_. It's something I don't want to risk at the moment. No, I shall go myself, _personally_."

He looked at the screen again, lost in thought.

"Tell me Pawn, is Prototype X-17 finished?"

"_We are tailoring the base model to you personal specifications doctor_," answered the Pawn. "It _will hopefully be ready within the next forty eight hours maximum_."

"Good," said Eggman, a dark grin playing across his features. "I could do with a test run. But I shall wait. If G.U.N. gets the Emerald before I do, it will make my victory when I take it from them all the more worth waiting for."

000

Hermione woke up slowly. At first, it felt like she was sinking back into a dream, but she realized she was awake when her senses kicked back in.

The first thing she noticed was that she was no longer in the clothes she had been wearing, nor was she where she had been previously. Instead, she was dressed in a light blue bathrobe and was laying on top of the sheets of a gold and crimson four-poster bed. She was in a room that was roughly fifty square feet, with dimmed lights built into the ceiling and the bed pushed up in a corner farthest away from the silver metallic door.

She had no recollection of how she had gotten here. In fact, the last thing she could remember was being in Diagon Alley, under attack from Death Eaters. But she had been saved, saved by someone she couldn't quite remember. She tried to think harder, to clarify her thoughts, but found that she had a shocking migraine and was unable to think clearly.

"Ouch," she said out loud to no-one in particular; she was surprised when she heard a reply.

"I'm not surprised."

Slowly, she turned her head to her left and saw a black and red hedgehog sat in a chair across the room. He was sat there, leant back slightly, his piercing red eyes fixed on her.

Shadow. She suddenly remembered.

His expression was one of concern and he slowly stood up and made his way over to the bed. Hermione watched him as he crossed the room but she said nothing. He reached her and knelt down at her side.

"Painful?" he asked quietly. She slightly inclined her head.

"You're Shadow." It wasn't a question.

He nodded, answering regardless. "I didn't realize I was so well known in the Wizarding World. I thought that I had stayed out of the limelight."

"You're not" said Hermione quickly. "I come from a non-magical family. I recognized you from their news."

"Muggles?"

Hermione blinked, surprised. "How do you know that's what we call them?"

He shrugged. "Research."

He paused for a moment, a frown creasing his expression.

"Hang on, I recognize you. You were in the library yesterday, weren't you?"

Hermione looked at him. She wondered whether he had noticed that she was the same person. "Yes, I was."

"Homework for the holidays?"

"No, just for fun. Although I have to admit, I was there today for another reason."

"Oh?"

Hermione blushed slightly and looked away. "I was trying to find out about you. Who you were. And why you were here."

Shadow looked at Hermione whilst she stared at the lights above her, trying to avoid his surprised gaze.

"You won't have found much," he said eventually. "I'm rather an enigma to many people."

"Yes, I'd gathered." She fidgeted slightly. "I hope you're not offended. I saw what you did to those Death Eaters, and I don't want to be on the receiving end of that."

Shadow touched her gently on the arm and she turned around to face him, apprehension on her pale features.

"Of course I'm not offended," he said quietly. "I can understand anyone being interested if they only have half-truths and not the full picture. Hell, even I don't have the full picture of my own life."

Hermione looked surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah, really." He paused as something struck him. "Hang on, did you say those men were Death Eaters?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

Shadow grimaced. "If I'd have known that, I would have kept one of them alive to have a little chat with."

"A chat?" asked Hermione, shocked. "Why on earth would you want to do that?"

Shadow looked Hermione directly in the eye. "Let me ask you a question. Why were there three Death Eaters after you?"

"Um," said Hermione, shifting slightly and pulling herself up into a sitting position. "Kind of because I made them angry. I don't know how much history you know of but they were trying to kill me because I attacked some of them a few months ago."

"The Department of Mysteries?" asked Shadow. Hermione looked at him and slowly nodded.

"Yeah, it was."

"Then…" Shadow mused for a moment before he continued. "Would that make you Hermione Jean Granger?"

Hermione almost did a double-take. "Yes" she said. "Yes it would."

"In that case" said Shadow. "I think we both have a common goal. How are you feeling at the moment?"

"Painful" she replied weakly.

"Hungry?"

Hermione's stomach rumbled; she blushed again and Shadow grinned.

"I'll take that as a yes. Stay here, I'll be back soon."

He stood up and walked over to the door. He placed his gloved palm against the metal and it retracted to one side as he made to exit. He paused in the doorway and looked over his shoulder, smiling at Hermione, his deep ruby-red eyes locking onto her chocolate brown ones. She returned the smile and he left.

Hermione sank and slid back into a supine position. She starred at the lights off to one side, lost in thought.

Shadow knew who she was, which had surprised her. Yet, he hadn't seemed surprised at all that she knew who he was, despite his lack of history. But she had learnt more about him in the last few minutes than her morning of in depth research had given her.

Wondering what the time was she reached for her wrist only to find that her watch was no longer there. She looked around, but found there was no trace of any of her personal belongings; her wand, her bag, her watch or her clothes. She wondered if she should be overly worried as she remembered having all of them before she had fainted, but decided not to worry about them for the time being.

The door slid away again and Shadow entered carrying a tray with a plate of sandwiches and a mug of soup on it. Hermione shifted herself back up to the sitting position and accepted the food with a word of thanks. Shadow walked across the room and picked up his chair, bringing it over to Hermione's bedside and he sat himself down facing her.

"Since you seem genuinely interested in me, I'll start at the beginning. Which, for me, was fifty years ago."

"Fifty years ago?" Hermione asked, surprised, through a mouthful of sandwich. She swallowed quickly and repeated her question. Fifty years ago seemed to strike a bell in her mind.

"Yep. I was created as the Ultimate Life Form. And I'm not kidding, that was actually what I was going to be called. But the name of the development process was Project Shadow so that name stuck with me. Mind you, it could have been worse."

"But how exactly did they create you? And where?"

Shadow smiled, but Hermione saw that it was a bitter expression.

"They created me with the scientific research of a scientist named Gerald Robotnik. He was a brilliant man, a heroic man, yet viewed by our world as a traitor. Very few know the real story from beginning to end. Anyway, Robotnik created me in an attempt to cure cancer. You see, his fourteen year old granddaughter who lived with him, Maria, was dying from a very rare form. She was the bravest person I ever knew... She still smiled, despite all the pain and suffering she endured."

He looked away and Hermione thought that he was about to start crying but when he raised his head, his expression seemed oddly distracted, yet a flicker of dark emotion played across the features.

"The other part of my creation was an alien warlord named Black Doom."

"Black Doom? You mean the-"

"Alien who just blew half of the United Federation to pieces? The same. You see, Gerald couldn't create life itself; he had made the body, the shell, the vitals, everything. But he lacked life. He bargained with Black Doom when the Black Comet passed Earth fifty years ago. In exchange for life, he would provide Doom with a rare collection of powerful jewels called the Chaos Emeralds. What they are and what they do is unimportant, only that the holder wields great power."

"Do you know where any of these Chaos Emeralds are then?" asked Hermione.

"One of them. And luckily, we are in possession of it. I'm afraid I do not have it on me but it is somewhere within G.U.N."

"Oh." It was all Hermione could say. "Go on."

"So, that was how I came to be. But then it gets worse. As you were raised a Muggle, you know of the Second World War?"

Hermione shuddered. "Yes."

"Shortly after the conclusion, G.U.N. had evidence to believe that Gerald Robotnik had been conspiring against the United Federation with the Nazi regime in Germany. G.U.N. sent a taskforce to the ARK to capture-"

"Sorry to cut you off Shadow," interrupted Hermione quickly. "But what's the ARK?"

"Of course, you won't know. Space Colony ARK. It was a space station launched in the thirties, with the intention of disrupting Nazi communications should it come to war. Gerald Robotnik was the caretaker of the facility."

"But the first spacecraft didn't take off until the fifties!" exclaimed Hermione.

"The reason there is so little about me is because the ARK was a failure. As a result, the entire program, which had been secret to start with, was locked deep into the federal system, so that no-one would ever learn of it."

"Why was it a failure?"

"Because G.U.N. believed that Gerald Robotnik was working for the Nazis. So, their taskforce went to the ARK. Black Doom had left only hours earlier. There was a struggle. All but five were killed, including Maria."

Shadow looked solemn for a moment and when he continued his voice was strained.

"She was helping me to escape. They believed that I was a weapon that had been developed for the Nazis, even though I wasn't. We were cornered in the escape pod room. She could have saved herself but she stood between us. They shot her five times, no less. I watched her slowly bleed to death before I escaped. I was captured four days later in a forest in the Federation. Her sacrifice had been for nothing."

He swallowed and continued, his voice stronger than before.

"Gerald was tried for war crimes and executed the following year. Ultimately, two of the remaining four of us were released without charge. Another one, who was no older than eight, was placed into foster care. And I was put into statis on Prison Island."

Shadow looked at Hermione, who was staring open-mouthed at him, her sandwiches forgotten. He took the tray from her and set it down on the floor. She mumbled a thanks and he nodded before continuing.

"I remained like that until two years ago. I was freed from statis by Doctor Ivo Robotnik, the grandson of Gerald Robotnik. You may have heard of him. He goes more commonly by the name Doctor Eggman."

"Doctor Eggman freed you?" asked Hermione.

"He had found his grandfather's journal which recorded the events of the last three years of his life. He learnt of the Ultimate Life Form. He freed me and for that, I was grateful."

"But Prison Island was destroyed?"

"Indeed. Not immediately. That happened during a battle between me and Sonic."

"Sonic The Hedgehog?"

"I'd be surprised if you _didn't_ know his name," said Shadow, grinning. "He loves the publicity, but unlike most hounds of that type, he is good at what he does. Obviously at this point I was against him; in fact, I had no idea who he was, other than the fact he was a constant pain in my rear. We battled and Prison Island blew up."

"Then?"

"Through a lot of complications, we ended up back on the ARK. I had already decided on my own agenda. I was going to make G.U.N. pay for what they had done. For their crimes against Gerald Robotnik. I led Eggman to the ARK and got him to gather the Chaos Emeralds for me. With all of the Emeralds assembled, I would be able to claim my vengeance. As always, it went disastrously wrong for both sides. The ARK had a self-defence mechanism, a prototype of the Ultimate Life Form known as the Biolizard. Once that was defeated, it transformed itself into the Finalhazard. At first, I was willing to let the beast get on with it; it would make my job easier by shifting the ARK out of its orbit and into the planet. But then, I remembered something. Something that brought me back in time. Maria. She wouldn't have wanted it this way. So, along with everyone else present, I became united in saving the ARK and the world. I transformed into my Super form – I believe that if you have done the research, you will know what that is, correct?"

Hermione nodded.

"Good. Yes, I transformed into my Super form and battled the Finalhazard. I used the last of my energy to save Sonic and defeat the beast. After that, I remember nothing."

"Why?"

"Amnesia. I believe that I fell. I was awoken a year later by a treasure hunter-turned-government agent called Rouge The Bat. She found me in statis in an abandoned base belonging to Doctor Eggman. In the process of waking me, we activated a robot unit known as E-123 Omega, the last and most powerful of a series of individualized mechanized assassins created by Doctor Eggman. I had no recollection of any of my prior memories due to the amnesia and decided to go with Rouge and Omega, who wanted to get even with Eggman. All of my past I've just told you, I have had to learn again from Eggman, Black Doom and the journal."

"That's terrible," said Hermione. "I'd hate for that to happen." She placed a soothing hand on his arm; his fur was warm. He looked at it and smiled.

"Well, through another overcomplicated adventure, we made it to Eggman, only to discover he had been imprisoned. By one of his own weapons no less."

"His own?" Hermione was incredulous. "Doesn't he have any control?"

"He doesn't pay them much respect. The smarter ones get wise and get out. Some like Omega become heroes. But not this one. This one was Metal Sonic. Eggman built him as a robotic doppelganger of Sonic. He built him to have the same speed, the same power, the same everything. And that included intellectual capacity. Sonic is smarter than people give him credit for, and that was reflected in Metal Sonic. He got wise, but didn't get out. He locked Eggman away on the flagship and took command. He used robotic duplicates and Chaos Energy to give up the facade that he was Eggman."

"Bet that hurt Eggman," muttered Hermione and Shadow nodded.

"He hired a group of detectives known as the Chaotix to break him out. At the same time, we arrived at his flagship, as did Sonic and his friends. Metal Sonic used negative energy from the Chaos Emeralds and transformed into Metal Madness. All but Sonic and two others engaged it in battle, including me, but it still managed to achieve its final Super form. Sonic went Super as well and defeated it. That was when some seeds of doubt were planted in my mind."

"What doubt?"

"That I wasn't Shadow. That, like Metal Sonic, I was simply a robotic copy with the memories and ideas of the original. In short, I had set out to learn the truth but now I was no better off than before."

"When did this happen?"

"January this year. I left and travelled quietly for three months, trying to contemplate all of the events that had happened to me. Eventually, I came to realize that I may never know the full truth. Then, the Black Arms attacked."

"I didn't know about the Black Arms until I got back from school," said Hermione apologetically. "They never really bothered with Britain."

"They were searching for the Emeralds as promised. I was, in fact, the messenger meant to deliver them." Shadow closed his eyes. "At the same time, the head of G.U.N. ordered my capture. It turns out that the kid who'd been put in foster care all those years ago was now head of G.U.N. and he wanted me dead over the whole ARK incident. It didn't help that I appeared to be allying with Black Doom to start with. Ultimately, I managed to gather the Emeralds, evade G.U.N. and make it to the Black Comet which was hovering in orbit near the ARK. I had to find out the answers myself. I had become even more confused throughout this war. I didn't know why G.U.N. wanted me dead so badly and Eggman had told me that I was in fact an android of the original. Ultimately, it was when I confronted Black Doom that the whole truth came out."

Hermione looked on, spellbound.

"I was a weapon. But a weapon to be used by humanity. My purpose was to protect the Earth from Black Doom. I learnt this information from him and the Chaotix. I also learnt that I was indeed the original Shadow from Eggman. Armed with this, I transformed and battled Black Doom in his Super form." Shadow paused. "God, I sound like I'm doing a monologue. I must sound like I'm stuck up my own backside or something"

Hermione gave an unladylike snort. She had the grace to look guilty afterwards.

"Sorry. I didn't know you used such terminology when referring to yourself."

"I don't often," said Shadow. "But it seemed like the right time. Anyway, I'm about to get to the reason why I'm here, and why I'm interested in Death Eaters."

Hermione had been listening intently, but at the mention of Death eaters again, she fixed her gaze on Shadow.

"I defeated Black Doom, made amends with the G.U.N. Commander who recruited me and allowed an elaborate cover story so that no-one would lose their reputation. But then I learnt a shocking truth, one that not even Gerald, Eggman or G.U.N. knew of. There was a third wheel in my creation. A bargain was struck by Black Doom with this person. They would give him mind control and various additional powers over me, in return for the Emeralds after he had used them. With Black Doom gone, the bargain still stands. This person will hunt the Emeralds like an obsession."

"It doesn't explain why you're so interested in Death Eaters," Hermione pointed out. "Is one of them the person who struck the deal?"

"Not one of them. The one who leads them all. The man known as Lord Voldermort."

It was if Hermione had been punched in the face. _Voldermort had had a hand in Shadow's creation_?

"I guessed it would shock you," said Shadow, looking at Hermione's frozen expression. "He was still a young man. How he got to the ARK, I've no idea. I guess he used his magic."

"Voldermort actually helped to _create_ you?" said Hermione, gasping.

"Please don't judge me," said Shadow, raising his hands. "I had no idea until Black Doom told me. But I have a very important mission to complete now. I have to find him and kill him. Not just to save people from him, but to bury my past."

Hermione looked at him and could see a hollow, almost-dead look in his eyes.

"My past has been haunting me, even when I cannot remember it. For me to be my own, I need to let it all go. But I can't do that when fragments remain."

"Shadow, that's..." said Hermione. She didn't know how to finish it. It reminded her painfully of so many other things. Shadow reached his arm round and took her hand from his fur, holding it in his glove.

"Yeah, I know. But I have to do it." He looked around for a moment, then stood up and walked to the end of her bed. He bent down and resurfaced quickly, holding what Hermione recognized as her watch.

"Your personal belongings are all down here. I sent your clothes to the laundry, because you'd been sweating so much whilst unconscious. I hope you don't mind."

"I don't" said Hermione. "What time is it?"

"Twenty five to six."

"What?" Hermione cried out. "I was meant to back home by six! I'm not going to get there in time, I don't even know how to apparated, I-"

"Come on," said Shadow extending a hand. "Go get changed, take your time. We'll drop your parents a line where you are and tell them not to worry."

"Are you sure?" asked Hermione as she took it and let Shadow pull her from the bed. He placed her watch back in her hand. "I'm not too sure how they'd react to a foreign government taking care of me."

"It'll be fine," he answered. "I'll even go and do it for you myself."

"Really?"

"Yep. I'll be back soon." And with that, Shadow walked over to the door and exited.

Hermione watched him go, then slipped her watch back onto her wrist. She fastened it and walked round to get her bag and other items. She found her clothes had been returned whilst she had been unconscious; they were neatly folded into a small pile next to her belongings. She picked them up, shrugged the robe off and started to dress herself; her clothes were faintly warm and comfortable.

She was slipping on her shoes when Shadow entered again, smiling.

"They weren't back yet, so I left them a voicemail, explaining that you're safe and will be back tonight."

"Thanks" said Hermione gratefully as she stood up. "I appreciate that."

Shadow just waved his hand. "No problem there. Glad to help. Which way do you go?"

"I catch the train from St Pancras to Nottingham. I live in Bedford so I'll get off there."

"Do you want me to take you to the station?"

Hermione looked surprised. "Are you sure? I mean, you've already done a lot for me today. You know, with saving my life and all that."

"If you wanted, I'd even go with you to Bedford," he replied. "I wouldn't like to take any chances. My enemies generally come back and doubt that it's the last you've seen of the Death Eaters."

"I..." Hermione started, but stopped. She couldn't see any reason why Shadow couldn't go with her; in fact, some part of her mind actually wanted the lack hedgehog to stay with her.

"Well, OK then. Thanks, Shadow."

He grinned again and Hermione noticed for the first time he had a single pointed tooth on either side of his mouth; small, almost unrecognizable, yet razor sharp.

"Don't fret. Now come on, or we'll be waiting all night for a train if we miss it."

He held out a hand again which Hermione took gently and together, they walked out of the room.

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><p>AN: So there's the first meeting of our heroes! Shadow and Hermione already seem to have warmed to each other; it's what happens when you save someone's life. Stay tuned for more in Within Shadow Is Light!


	4. Shine

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog or Harry Potter; they belong to SEGA and JK Rowling.

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><p>"It's not like my old self - I'm not in character anymore, I'm me. I'm not hiding behind that anymore." - Damon Albarn<p>

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><p>The G.U.N. Headquarters in Whitehall were eerily quiet when Shadow returned. He guessed that since there seemed to be no sign of any imminent threat, G.U.N. had allowed their agents to clock off early; it was only just after half eight in the evening and most G.U.N. agents would stay until ten before they were released to be covered by the night watch. As this particular branch of the organization was simply an information base loaned from the British government, they did not have a particularly strong military presence here. Most of that was regulated through the normal British Ministries.<p>

Shadow yawned. His legs had had their best workout in ages and were tired for once. They had taken a taxi to London St Pancras Station, where the two had boarded the train heading to Nottingham. Shadow had worn a large red hoodie and had simply looked as if he may have been Hermione's younger brother, hidden in shadow to avoid recognition. They had found a surprisingly secluded spot near the back of the carriage and had sat next to each other in a quiet silence as the train had pulled out of the station. They had sat in silence for a few minutes, watching as the buildings on London began to gradually thin out, before Hermione spoke again.

"I'm surprised you've not asked me about Harry, if you're looking to defeat Voldermort."

Shadow turned his head towards her and arched a quizzical eyebrow.

"I considered, but from what I gathered, Harry is notoriously private about his life. I know the two of you fought together at the Department of Mysteries, but I don't know how close you are as friends."

"We're close," said Hermione quickly. "Very close."

"Closer than some?" said Shadow, raising both of his eyebrows and winking; Hermione blushed and turned her head away.

"Not that like. I've known him since our first year. It's me, him and Ron. The three of us are almost inseparable. We've fallen out more times than I can remember, yes, but deep down, we're all the best of friends. Kind of a like a family. There really is a strong friendship"

"I had forgotten the meaning of friendship until recently," said Shadow quietly. "On the ARK, all I had for a friend for Maria. She was wonderful and so brave. After I lost her, I thought I would never love again. When I was woken, I was focused on revenge. But it was ultimately her memory that brought me back round to it. When I was rescued by Rouge and Omega, I was initially mistrustful of them, but I warmed after some time. Then, after this whole fiasco with the Black Arms, I feel safe in calling them my best friends. Must be a first, having a robot as one of your mates."

"What about Sonic?" Hermione asked.

"I suppose he is. The amount of times we've saved each other's neck, there has to be some level of respect. As a friend, more so after all of this. Although, I think I've bonded with nearly everyone a little more. Probably made me a nice guy." He snorted.

"You are a nice guy," said Hermione quickly. "Otherwise, I'd be dead and you'd be psychopathic."

"And you're too kind," Shadow replied, although he was smiling a bit more. "Now that I have indulged you in my full life story, I trust that you will tell no-one its contents, not even Harry Potter."

"As far as I'm concerned, I won't even relay the fact that I met you. Harry may have an idea of who you are, but I can guarantee that Ron will be completely in the dark."

"If on the off chance one of them asks, you can tell them who I'm after. Though no reasons please."

"As a Gryffindor, you have my honour" Hermione stated, placing a hand on his glove.

"Well, that's good." Shadow sighed and leant back in his seat. Outside the window, the sun was beginning its long slow descent towards the horizon, tingeing the sky a light shade of orange. He smiled.

"I hope that after lunch this day improved for you Hermione" he said, grinning. "You'd have considered it wasted if you didn't know all about me."

She looked over at him again. "I suppose I would have" she answered, grinning as well. "It's my nature. I'm the inquisitive type."

They had engaged small talk until the train had pulled into Bedford Station and Shadow and Hermione had gotten off. The two had walked at a leisurely pace past the setting sun, until they had reached the cul-de-sac where Hermione lived.

"Well, this is me," she said. She looked slightly uncomfortably and Shadow could guess what she was thinking.

"Are you wondering if you'll ever see me again?" he asked; she looked surprised, but nodded all the same.

"You've told me a lot about yourself Shadow, and even you admit that not many others know the full story. But I still feel like there is more to know about you."

Shadow contemplated her for a moment. He certainly found himself engaged, almost fascinated, by Hermione. The only humans he had ever known well were Maria, Gerald, the Commander from when he had been on the ARK and Eggman. Out of all of those, the only one he had considered a friend was Maria. Yet, although not physically, Hermione reminded him so much of Maria. It had been that aspect of her that had drawn him towards her and made him open his heart and secrets to her. To not stay in contact would be doing the both of them a great injustice.

"I agree with you Hermione," he said; she looked at him, and smiled.

"Really?" she asked hopefully.

"Really" he replied, grinning. He wondered if he had ever smiled or grinned more in a day. "Tell you what, when are you next planning on going to Diagon Alley?"

"I was thinking Sunday probably. I've only got three more after weeks Sunday before I'm back at Hogwarts, but I do want to spend some time with my family."

"If it's a Thursday today, then two days is enough for me to do some G.U.N. stuff. So, Sunday in Diagon Alley?"

"Sounds good to me" replied Hermione, looking over her shoulder towards her house some distance down the street."

"Excellent" said Shadow, following her gaze. "Take care Hermione, it's been an... experience meeting you."

He reached out his hand; instead of shaking it, Hermione took it and pulled him into a gentle hug. Shadow hadn't been expecting it and awkwardly patted her on the back.

"Thank you Shadow" she whispered. "For saving me."

"Please don't make me blush" he murmured and she laughed.

"OK then. You take care too." And with that, she turned and headed away down the street towards her house. Shadow watched until she had reached the driveway, then turned away and headed towards the motorway.

Upon reaching the junction, he had found the last vestiges of rush hour traffic which he had been able to navigate easily by simply grinding down the central reservation. Many people were stunned as a black and red blur passed, and nearly all of them decided it was a trick of the light, to give up drinking, or both. Regardless, Shadow made good time back to London and, after arriving back at Headquarters, made his way towards Conference Room One to see if either Rouge or Omega were still waiting for him.

He wasn't disappointed when he arrived. Rouge was sat at the table with Omega stood to one side like a sentry as usual. Both looked up at him as he entered.

"Deliver her safely?" asked Rouge tiredly as he shut the door behind him.

"No problem at all," he replied as he began to pull the hoodie over his head. "Do I detect a hint of annoyance at me, Rouge?"

"If it wasn't for the fact that you'd been helping someone, I would," said Rouge who also sounded slightly vexed. "I've had to cover for your surveillance duties this afternoon, which I could have done without. But I'm more interested in why suddenly Mr. Cold-Hearted Bastard is escorting a human girl around."

"_Rouge, you could have put it more tactfully,_" interjected Omega but Rouge ignored him.

"So, are you going to tell us or what?"

Shadow sighed. "I suppose so. You know that I brought her back from Diagon Alley, right?"

"_Affirmative_."

"Well, I saved her from a couple of Death Eaters."

"Death Eaters..." mused Rouge. "You mean those guys who are troops for Voldermort?"

"The same. They were going to kill her, or worse, threaten her with a long winded speech. So I killed all three of them and brought her back here. I couldn't exactly leave her in the middle of the place, it was pandemonium."

"Ever the knight in shining armour. Although I believe that it is a first for you."

"I think you're probably right there. I hardly have to rescue you. Only from Omega and alien warlords."

"_My bad,_" said Omega with a hint of apology.

"But then, why did you spend the rest of the afternoon with her, and then escort her home when she was perfectly capable of doing it herself?"

"I... Well, it..." Shadow started, but then he stopped. He was trying to think of a convenient excuse, couldn't and so decided on the truth. "She reminded me of Maria."

"Maria?" asked Rouge, surprised.

"Not physically, but mentally. Very polite, very engaging, the sort of qualities you look for in a friend if you know what I mean. Until I met you two, I had forgotten the meaning. But this girl reminded me of human friendship, companionship. It reminded me so much of Maria."

"Shadow, you're not trying to project an emotional state onto her?" said Rouge cautiously. "You know she can never be Maria."

"I know that, but..." He paused, figuring how best to say what he wanted to. "I felt something. Something other than Maria. It was hope, Rouge. Hope that I can finally put this wretched story of my life behind me once and for all."

000

Doctor Eggman was furious.

No, furious probably couldn't describe his current state. Seething, now that was a word he could use to go a bit further to describing how he felt.

Doctor Eggman was seething. And he had good reason to do.

From the coast of his secret base, Eggman had decided to try out a prototype battleship, the Egg Shark. Based on the old mako shark gunship from his first Egg Fleet which he had hardly been able to use due to Metal Sonic, he had revamped it to fit with his more modern style, improving its rear command centre and removing most of its individual cannon arms in favour of a high powered energy cannon that he had created, called the Egg Blazer. It fired off a laser that was combined with a jet of fire swirled around it. Eggman planned to test it on a small, relatively uninhabited island nearby and had decided that the only thing he would have to worry about was a group of crazed environmentalists.

Unfortunately, as his luck would have it, he had ended up with something far worse.

"You really need to come up with some new ideas, Eggman!" called out Sonic the Hedgehog as he effortlessly dodged the bullets and lasers from the few remaining turrets and casually knocked an Egg Pawn from the deck; it spun away towards the ocean below. "I recognize this battleship! Are you trying to go old-school? Is that why you've trimmed your moustache?"

"You insolent hedgehog!" Eggman shouted from the control tower where he sat, but Sonic simply leapt about some more, sticking his tongue out.

"I can't hear what you're saying up there, Eggman! Why don't you come on down so I can kick your butt?"

Eggman would usually respond to these challenges by launching himself in his latest humongous mechanical contraption and the order of play would follow similar events; they would duel, he would gain the upper hand, Sonic would go Super and, in the hedgehog's own words, kick his butt.

However, this plan would not happen today, owing to the fact that Eggman did not have a corresponding humongous mechanical contraption and Sonic did not have the Chaos Emeralds. This effectively still left Sonic with an advantage as he was a damn sight quicker, and Eggman would be damned if he came to hand-to-hand combat with the blasted hedgehog.

"No," he called back down to Sonic, who was still bouncing off the turrets and occasionally on top of the cannon. "No, I will not."

Sonic stopped dead in mid-air, as an expression of complete shock passed over his features. He felt to the ground and managed to land on his feet. "What did you say?"

"I said no, you deaf rodent!" called Eggman back. He had no idea why he was not rising to Sonic's taunts as usually, and probably decided it was due to the fact that he had bigger plans.

"Y-you can't say that!" shouted Sonic upwards. "You're meant to fight me, aren't you?"

"Nope!" Eggman replied, who was beginning to enjoy himself; for once, he had no cards, save this battleship that Sonic could break, and he was intending to enjoy taunting for as long as he could. "Change of plan, dear Sonic! I'm not going to fight you today!"

Sonic was thunderstruck. _What the hell was Eggman playing at_?

"What are you up to Eggman?" he called out, a dangerous edge in his voice. Sonic didn't enjoy getting angry, and when he did, usually Eggman, Metal Sonic, or sometimes even Amy bore the brunt of it.

"Me? I am trying to test out my latest battleship in a perfectly innocent way" said Eggman in a tone dripping with sarcasm. "What does it look like, you blithering idiot? That I'm selling candyfloss to extinct animals?"

A strangely disturbing image of a dodo bird buying candyfloss from Eggman at a stall in the middle of a deserted plain halted Sonic's mind for a moment, but he quickly recovered.

"Eggman, if you don't answer me this minute, I'm going to come up there and punch your face into the middle of next week! What is your plan?"

"Wouldn't you like to know! All I can say is that you'll be sorry once I've got all the power I need! Sorry you ever tried to stop me, Sonic!"

"Eggman, I've warned you. If you don't stop, I'm gonna hurt you really bad!"

Eggman loved riling Sonic up, but he still needed to find a way to get rid of the damned blue blur himself. As his eyes roamed around the masses of cluttered levers and flashing buttons, he saw a projectile like weapon lying under the desk. Behind his glasses, his eyes narrowed with an evil glee. He carefully lowered a hand to it as he replied.

"Suits me fine Sonic! I'd like to see you penetrate my glass front here. It's reinforced to keep the likes of-"

Eggman was cut short, because to his surprise, Sonic had leapt and spin-dashed in mid air into the window. Although it had not broken, it had certainly cracked and past the jagged lines, Eggman could see the hedgehog coming back for a second shot. He grabbed the weapon with both hands, leapt from his chair, and stood behind it, raising it to point directly at the window.

As Sonic smashed through the frosted pane, Eggman pulled the trigger. From the end of the weapon sprouted three gold rings. They sped towards Sonic as he flew towards Eggman and rapidly encircled him, before closing in. Sonic did not have time to make use of his large assortment of witty one-liners before he vanished with a faint noise.

Eggman lowered the weapon and looked at the bits of broken glass. At this altitude, the security screen had dropped immediately to stop the vacuum from creating havoc, replacing the shattered window. His gaze dropped to his weapon. The Warp Gun was by no means the best of his creations, but Eggman was proud of it; he didn't know of any other weapon that would be able to transport an enemy anywhere on the entire planet with the pull of a button. Still, he gained some satisfaction from having teased Sonic with his latest master plan; he just hoped that the hedgehog hadn't worked out what it was yet, or had landed somewhere safe. He hoped that Sonic had been dropped into an ocean or maybe a Chinese torture camp if such things still existed.

Although it had not been much use against Sonic, Eggman had decided that the Egg Shark had passed its run-out with admirable progress. He would see that it would be built to his specifications and launched as the primary ship of his new and improved Egg Fleet.

Making a few mental calculations, he began to shift the large beast through the sky and back to base.

000

Fate is a very peculiar force. Sometimes, it would bend directly to the wishes of one; another time, it would go out of its way to cause pain and humiliation to another.

Luckily for Sonic the Hedgehog, fate decided to bend to his desires to land somewhere where there was no water. The Warp Gun chose to not deposit him in an ocean or a Chinese torture camp, but instead in the British city of Leeds. Sonic had never been to Leeds, nor had he heard of it, but was glad that it wasn't the ocean at least. He fell from the sky and landed quite roughly in the middle of a deserted football stadium.

"Ouch" he muttered, his face have buried in the green turf.

"Hey!" someone shouted. "Get off there!"

He was obviously not as alone as he had first thought he was. Slowly, Sonic got to his feet and began dusting his elbows off. He was vaguely aware of a figure striding across the pitch towards him. He brushed some stray pieces of mud and grass from his fur and looked at the new arrival.

The man, who appeared to be quite old, stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the blue hedgehog regarding him with an inquisitive look.

"Bloody hell," he whispered, yet it carried on the light wind to Sonic. "It's only Sonic the flamin' Hedgehog. Here! Here on my bloody turf!"

"Sorry to sound insensitive," Sonic interjected. "But where exactly is here?"

"This is Elland Road Stadium," said the man, pulling himself up to his full height and puffing his chest out proudly. "An' it's the home of Leeds United Football Club."

Sonic looked around, slightly confused. "But all I see are soccer goalposts."

"Ah, yeah. We call soccer football in our country. We call your game UF Football."

"Well, that explains it," said Sonic. "Tell me, Mr..?"

"Scanzowichz. Bruce Scansowichz."

"Okay Mr. Scansowichz, how do I get to London?"

"Simple. Just leave the stadium and follow that road round to the right. Stay on it till you see the signs for London, an' then you follow 'em down."

"Right. Thank you very much," said Sonic as he began to sprint off.

"The pleasure was all mine!" the old man called after him. "The pleasure was all mine!"

000

Shadow sat through a few more questions from Rouge about Hermione, and the occasional stupid one from Omega before he finally grew tired and said that he was going to head out on the town.

"You mean drinking?" Rouge asked, surprised, but he shook his head.

"Nah, just a bit of fresh air before turning in for the night. I think I'll walk to the hotel on an alternate route, if you get my meaning."

"Oh. Want any company?"

"No, I'll be fine on my own. Thanks anyway."

With that, Shadow left the conference room, leaving a slightly confused Rouge and impartial Omega in his wake.

"Was it something I said, Omega?"

"_Probably. You're not very good at reading his emotions_."

"I am. You're a robot so you have no room to talk."

"_True_."

Shadow heard their argument drift away as he walked down the corridor and out of G.U.N. Headquarters. By now, the sun had fully set on a glorious day, and a warm humid night remained, with stars glistening in the sky. There was no wind, not even a slight breeze. Shadow looked up at the sky and tried to see if he could pick out a constellation, but to no avail. He gave up and set off at a leisurely pace down the street.

He had not got twenty yards when he heard a slight wind pick up. However, it was not a natural wind, rather one that would be accompanied by something going incredibly fast, like a slipstream. Shadow groaned inwardly as he guessed who had turned up.

Sonic shot past, a blue blur, and skidded to a halt after he had passed him, turning on the spot.

"Hey, Shadow! How's it going?"

"What do you want Sonic?" said Shadow, slightly irritated. "I thought you were meant to be still in the Federation, boosting morale or something for the people."

"Not the nicest of welcomes" said Sonic as he strolled up the street towards the now still Shadow who had halted under a lamppost. "I was hoping for something with a little more friendliness, but since it's you, I'll give you a break this time."

"I've actually been in a good mood for once" commented Shadow in an off-hand tone. "But your mere presence has set me into depression again."

"Really?"

"Nah, not really. I won't say I'm pleased to see you, because you wouldn't be here unless someone was dead or Eggman was nearby."

"Nobody's dead, Shadow, and Eggman's on the other side of the world. Although, the reason I'm here _is_ to do with our esteemed doctor."

"Does he want you to deliver a message for world domination?" asked Shadow sarcastically. "Because usually he sends those to you, not me."

"Er, no," said Sonic, shifting uncomfortably. "I'm here because he sent me."

There was a moment's silence, before Shadow replied.

"What, to pick up groceries?"

"No! He had a weapon, a bit like a rocket launcher. He fired these weird silver rings at me which kind of trapped and teleported me into midair above a city."

"London?"

"Leeds. It's in the north of this country. Thankfully there was a road to London, so I followed it to come here and try and find you."

"Find me? Why? To tell me you got beaten for once?"

"Not that. Eggman was refusing to fight me. He was teasing me, on about his latest plan. Except, he didn't produce one of his humongous mechanical contraption, or drop any more hints about the plan."

"You mean he's become self-aware?" questioned Shadow. "Do you think he owns a copy of the Evil Overlord's Handbook?"

"Doubt it. It just seemed... I know he's a villain, but even he has standards. He wasn't playing by them today. Which means he's got something big planned." Sonic seemed agitated and kept on shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "It's weird."

Shadow nodded. Sonic had a point; this wasn't Eggman's normal behaviour. He usually liked to gloat about his plans at every opportunity, and attempt to beat Sonic to a pulp.

"OK Sonic. Come with me, you can stay at the hotel for the night, then we'll go speak to the Commander in the morning. He'll have some notion."

"Are you sure?" asked Sonic as the two began to walk.

"Positive. Although if you snore, you're sleeping in the bath."

"No, I meant about the Commander."

"Who knows? He's the only person besides us who's got a half a good measure of Eggman. Maybe we can figure it out before it's too late."

"Yeah," said Sonic, relaxing slightly as they reached the main road. "You're probably right about that."

"Of course I am," answered Shadow, grinning. "I'm Shadow the Hedgehog. I'm not wrong often."

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><p>AN: Shadow and Sonic back together! Hermione has a new friend! Doctor Eggman has an secret plan! That was a pretty important chapter for the events we've had so far. If you're still reading, the pace is going to pick up in a few more chapters; this may be a slow burner and seem like its simply setting the scene, but it's actually just moving all the pieces into position for the begining of the main story, which will feature action, cool wit, and everyone's favourite greasy haired Potions Master! So stay tuned; next time, Harry appears!


	5. Get Right With Me

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog or Harry Potter; they belong to SEGA and JK Rowling, which is a shame.

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><p>"Everything in life is luck" - Donald Trump<p>

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><p>In the bedroom that had formerly belonged to Fred and George Weasley, Harry Potter sat with his back against the headboard, his legs sprawled out casually in front of him, reading a book. It was a fictional book, about the adventures of a Muggle known as Mr Muggins that Ron had leant to him as a spot of light reading. It wasn't a particularly testing novel to read, and wasn't an overly long book either which Harry believed was probably a prime reason Ron owned it, but it was almost fascinating to him to study the wizarding perspective of how his life had been before Hogwarts. Having been raised by his Uncle and Aunt, Harry was accustomed to all of the Muggle settings and features that would seem so alien to a pureblood wizard like Ron, and he could understand how and why they would seem peculiar having now spent five years of his life in the wizarding world.<p>

Harry turned over the page, and decided on a sudden impulse, to put the book down. He dropped it onto the carpet next to his bed and hauled himself up into a standing position, so that he was starring out of the window. Below him was a magnificent view of the large back garden that was situated behind the Burrow. It was almost midday and the high summer sun bathed it in a warming yellow glow that reminded Harry strangely of buttercups. It flitted through the leaves on the large pear tree and cast unusual patterns in semi-darkness upon the slightly fraying surface of the lawn. It gave an almost scatterbrained effect; it was common throughout all of the Weasley property and was one of the reasons why Harry loved it. Unlike his surgically clean Aunt's house, the Burrow was simply the way any normal teenage boy liked it; a complete and utter mess. He smiled ruefully as a gnome peeked out from behind a gooseberry bush and started to trot its way across the yard. He wondered if it would be able to make it to the other side before someone else spotted it. If no-one did, he decided that the gnome had earned its reward to spend a few minutes on this side of the wall before it would be sent flying back, disorientated.

Harry drummed his fingers on the edge of the window as his thoughts began to wander to the previous evening. He had been picked up from his usual summer holiday abode of the Dursleys by none other than his headmaster Albus Dumbledore. Harry had had no real idea why Dumbledore wanted to see him, but he had found out soon enough. Firstly, it had been to help him to persuade an old colleague of his, a certain Horace Slughorn, to come out of retirement and take up a teaching position at Hogwarts. Harry had found that Slughorn was not a particularly nasty person; he was much nicer than Snape for example, but he had a gut feeling that he wouldn't want to spend too much time with him. Unfortunately, Dumbledore's next instruction had been, in his own words, to let Slughorn 'collect' him for his own little group. Harry had no idea what the plans of Dumbledore were, but he decided to simply go with the flow. The next topic, to Harry's surprise, had been the fact that he was to take private lessons with Dumbledore next year, in preparation as promised against Voldermort. There had been no elaboration on what would happen in these lessons, but Harry had still been excited by it. Their final topic of conversation had been Sirius, and to Harry's credit, he felt that he was dealing with the grief well. True the loss still hurt him painfully, but he had managed to channel all of his excess rage, anger and grief out of him and towards Voldermort. Due to their mental connection, Harry could only hope that he was giving Tom Riddle hell, wherever he was. Dumbledore had praised Harry for his skills, and with his confidence beginning to return, harry felt more alive than ever.

There was just one thing bugging him though. Whilst Ron had been eager to hear of what Dumbledore had been discussing as well as the contents of the prophecy and Harry more than keen to share, since Dumbledore had granted him the liberty, both of them had aired the fact that neither had spoken to Hermione since the holidays had began. Ron had jokingly said that Hermione was waiting until her OWLs came before responding to any contact from the outside world, but both were slightly concerned. Harry had revealed to Ron that the OWL results would be delayed until the following week due to the fiasco and fallout from the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry. Despite being left out of the press, Ron admitted that for once he was glad as it meant that he didn't have to feel pressurized into recounting the tale as Harry had been asked by many. Harry realized that Ron had considerably matured after the battle and was grateful for it, but the two were still worried about where Hermione was. Harry stretched his arms upwards and yawned before heading over to his door and opening it. He made one last glance around the room to make sure that the window was open for when Hedwig returned before he began to make his way downstairs again to see if there was any lunch about.

The house was eerily quiet for once. Ron was with his mother, Bill and Fleur at his Auntie Muriel's house (Harry had been surprised to learn that Fleur and Bill were engaged), Mr Weasley was at work at the Ministry in his new job and Ginny was visiting Luna's. Harry had said to Ginny that he might come on round later, depending on what he was doing. It meant that the only person present in the house besides himself was Charlie, who had just returned from Romania that morning, and was sleeping in his room after a long, hard busy work period. Harry didn't feel like waking him, and instead elected to continue past the door and down into the kitchen.

When he got there, he found a couple of notes laid out for him on the table, along with a plate of sandwiches. He also found an owl perched on the edge of the kitchen window that led out into the garden, hooting quietly. Harry could see that it had a copy of the Daily Prophet attached to its leg. He dug into the back pocket of his jeans and found a handful of Knuts that he deposited into the owl's pouch, before removing the paper from the twine around its leg. The owl gave a last soft hoot and took off, arcing through the cloudless sky and vanishing slowly into the distance, until it was no more than a mere speck. Harry watched it until he could no longer see it through his glasses, then set the paper down to one side whilst he read the notes. The first was from Mrs Weasley, giving a brief overview of her daily plan and a rough estimate to the time she should be back. The second was from Ginny, but was addressed to Charlie so Harry did not bother to read it. Instead, he pulled out a chair and sat down, taking a beef sandwich from the top of the pile. He reached over for the Prophet and spread out the front page in front of him whilst he took a bite of sandwich.

As his eyes drifted over the headline, he stopped eating. He quickly swallowed and set the remainder down on one side, smoothing out the paper some more with his free hand. He looked back at the headline. It screamed:

_**DEATH EATERS IN DIAGON ALLEY!**_

Harry looked at it with a sinking feeling. There had been Death Eaters in Diagon Alley? He read on, to see if it got any worse.

_**DEATH EATERS IN DIAGON ALLEY!**_

_**By Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent**_

_**Yesterday, as the newly appointed Minister for Magic Rufus Scrimgeour announced plans for a new, tighter security system in Wizarding Britain, his government was shown up by scenes in Diagon Alley, where THREE Death Eaters arrived on the scene late in the afternoon. One eyewitness said that the trio, all dressed in Death Eater garb, "Apparated directly into the street, and immediately started firing spells." Terrified shoppers fled the scene in chaos, fearing for their lives. However, various sources say that the Death Eaters were targeting a teenage girl, one of the so-called Ministry Six who-**_

Harry felt as if his heart had dropped through the floor. The Death Eaters had been after Hermione. It could be no-one else, as the other two girls in question he knew were both safe and sound a couple of miles away. He suddenly wished he hadn't even taken one bite of the sandwich. Worriedly, he continued to read

_**-who fought against You-Know-Who this June. However, dear readers, this attack was foiled by a most unusual hero. A black and red anthropomorphic hedgehog was noted by several eyewitnesses as having intervened and KILLED the Death Eaters in combat before taking the girl in question through what appeared to be Apparition.**_

_**I have done a little bit of background research into the Muggle media and discovered that this hedgehog hails from the United Federation where it was one of the main combatants in a conflict with an alien invasion. Although details are scarce, the hedgehog-**_

The page ended there and Harry sat in a mixture of worry and stunned shock. He was worried because Hermione had been attacked, but stunned and shocked because she had been abruptly saved by the last person he had expected.

Shadow The Hedgehog.

In the brief time he had spent at his Uncle and Aunt's house, he had tried to continue distancing himself from the battle by reading the Muggle news. Not much had been good now that Voldermort had been openly acknowledged by the Ministry; there had been a pick-up in Muggle killings and accidents; there had been freak storms in Birmingham, collapsing bridges in Bristol and a stadium collapse in Scotland. But a story in the international news section had caught his eye. Apparently, whilst he had been busy fighting Death Eaters, the United Federation had been fighting extraterrestrial forces. At first, Harry had wondered if it had simply been a joke, but upon further reading, he had discovered that it was indeed fact. Apparently, an international Muggle peacekeeping force known as G.U.N. had managed to defeat them, but the main heroes of the piece had been two hedgehogs, known as Sonic and Shadow. Together, with G.U.N. and a scientist by the name of Doctor Eggman, they had been able to drive back the assault and destroy it. Harry remembered that this Eggman character wasn't necessarily a hero but a greater evil had presented itself; it made Harry wonder if any such villains would come to his aid when the time came to battle Voldermort.

But why would a Muggle hero, a non-human Muggle hero, be in the Wizarding World? Why would they be attacking and killing Death Eaters? And why had they rescued Hermione afterwards? Harry knew that Skeeter's stories tended to embellish the truth somewhat, but he could even see her lying about something like this.

Harry decided to break tradition for once. He knew that the only way he could get hold of Hermione quicker than fireplace, owl or broomstick was the British telephone system. Grabbing his jacket from the back of the door, some Muggle change from the worktop which Mr Weasley had been studying in fascination the night before, and his half eaten sandwich before he exited the house and began the walk to the nearby village of Ottery St Catchpole.

It took Harry less time than he had anticipated making it to the village. Ottery St Catchpole was a small rural hamlet, covering roughly only one and a half square hearts for its centre; houses belonging to the Weasleys and the Lovegoods were situated about a mile or so out of the edge of the furthest houses, but weren't close enough to anywhere else to have different place listed in their addresses. It had a small convenience store, a pub which Harry had promised Ron he would take him in order to show Muggle beverages and a post office. None of these were Harry's destination; rather, it was the glass-paned Muggle telephone booth on the corner of the street next to the post office. There was no-one waiting to use it and Harry entered, letting the door swing to a close behind him before he picked up the receiver. He racked his memory for Hermione's phone number, inserted his change, dialled and waited.

000

Upon her return to the house, Hermione had found herself pulled into an almost-suffocating hug by her father. After she had managed to disentangle herself from the hug, she had received a similar treatment from her mother, who looked as if she had been crying recently. After what had seemed like an hour of simply hugs and kisses exchanged between the two parties, Hermione's father had sat her down and asked to explain the story in whole.

Hermione had told most of the truth. She told them that she had been doing research but elected not to tell them what on. She told them that she had left to go get some lunch and had been accosted by the Death Eaters. She told them that she had indeed been rescued, by the British government. She elected to leave Shadow out of it, even though he had spoken to them on the phone; she guessed he had kept his identity secret. She then told them about being counselled by the British government, before they had escorted her back here. Again, she elected to leave Shadow out of it. She guessed since her parents were Muggles, they would know of Shadow, and possibly have read more about him in the newspapers. However, she had promised to keep knowledge of him to a minimum. Her parents didn't ask who, so she didn't tell. Usually, she would have told someone, but it would feel like betraying Shadow's trust if she did so. In fact, their relationship in secret all seemed a little bit naughty to Hermione.

Hermione had been spellbound by Shadow. The whole mystery, the enigma that he was, she was fascinated, in a good way. She had spent all of nearly three hours in his presence yet they had almost instantly clicked. Shadow had appeared to be genuinely interested in her affairs, even without her connection to his ultimate target. He was interested in her for her, and not for Harry. That made a change to Hermione, as several people would hang off her or Ron in order to get closer to Harry. It felt nice to be receiving some sort of attention for being Hermione Granger that wasn't related to Harry or her academic skills.

After being lost in her thoughts for a good portion of an hour, Hermione had run herself a hot bath and let herself soak whilst she continued to daydream. Eventually, she got out a dried herself off before dressing in her nightgown for bed. She went downstairs and bade her parents good night before she returned to her room and settled down in bed. As she began to drift into sleep, her last thought was off a black and red hedgehog. She closed her eyes with a smile.

When she woke the following morning, she wondered if it had been a crazy dream. It had all seemed so unreal after a night's sleep. However, she confirmed it was real when she looked n her bag she had taken yesterday and found a small business card with an odd red symbol printed on it. She smiled and put it in her bedside drawer.

She had had a relatively lazy morning, electing not to study intensely for once; there would be time for that later. Instead, she indulged herself in watching some rubbish programmes on the television and spent the morning in her bedclothes. Her parents both had work so she found herself alone in the house. After a few hours, she moved from the sofa to make herself a sandwich in the kitchen.

She was buttering some bread when the phone rang from the hallway. Hermione was surprised, as she knew that her parents' friends would only ring when they were in, which either meant it was a wrong number, or it was someone ringing for her. She set the knife down and headed out into the hallway. She paused, her had hovering over the receiver before she picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Hermione?" came a familiar voice. "Is that you?"

"Harry?" said Hermione, gasping in surprise. "What's happening? Where are you?"

"I'm in a phone booth near Ron's house," replied Harry. He sounded slightly worried. "As for what's happening, I was hoping that you would be able to tell me that."

"Why, what do you mean?" asked Hermione, although she believed that she had an inkling what he was on about.

"You haven't seen today's copy of the Prophet, have you?"

"No, I don't get it whilst I'm out of Hogwarts. Why?"

"Because you're in today's issue."

There was silence from both ends of the line before Harry's voice came again.

"Are you still there Hermione?"

"Yeah, I'm still here. What, how exactly was I mentioned?"

"Not by name. More, you were referred to in connection with the Battle at the Ministry. Apparently, you were involved in a skirmish yesterday in Diagon Alley with three Death Eaters. Is it true?"

Hermione waited for a few moments, before answering. She had hoped to keep it quiet that it was her who had been involved in Diagon Alley, but she had completely forgotten that it would probably end up as front page headline news after meeting Shadow; it had driven the idea of her being noticed by anyone else from her mind.

"Yes" she answered slowly. "I didn't think anyone had noticed it was me."

"Skeeter wrote the article, so I imagine that it would've been related to you regardless. It's just that she's published the truth for once." He sounded slightly relieved which surprised her.

"You sound as if it was a lucky break that I got attacked."

"No, I'm glad you're safe, but also that it was you. I'd hate to be thinking they murdered someone in cold blood. From what I gather, they were the ones who got murdered in cold blood."

Hermione paused, before answering again. "Does the Prophet say anything else?"

Harry countered with a question of his own. "Hermione, were you rescued by Shadow the Hedgehog?"

Hermione gasped, which inevitably gave Harry the answer he was looking for.

"So that part is true as well. I was wondering if Skeeter had fabricated another story, but he really was there."

"Yes." Hermione had found her voice again quickly. "Yes he was."

"And he saved you." It was a statement, not a question.

"Yes. Why are you asking me all of this?"

"Because I want to make sure my friends are alright!" said Harry a little too vehemently; he realized, when he heard Hermione gasp again, that he may have said it too strongly.

"I didn't mean for it to come out like that" he said quickly. "I meant that I really care about you guys and after seeing you in the papers under attack, I was just worried sick about you. Sorry if I hurt you there."

"No, there's no need to be sorry Harry" Hermione answered, feeling slightly guilty. "I know that you care, it's just that it was... anyway, he saved me and took me to the Muggle government. I was unconscious at the time. When I woke up, we chatted and then he escorted me back home last night."

There was a continued period of silence before Harry asked Hermione.

"Why were the Death Eaters after you? Did they say that they were after you?"

"Yes, they made it quite clear that the wanted me dead. On Voldermort's orders no less." A year ago, Hermione would have found it hard to get the name out into the open, but a year of insistent drilling by Harry had broken the taboo.

"Hmmm. That still doesn't explain why... a superhero, I suppose, was in Diagon Alley and he stepped in to save your life."

Hermione paused before she spoke; she was trying to decide just what she should tell Harry. She did not want to reveal everything, but Harry had a right to know about certain aspects of it. She took a breath and steadied herself.

"He was in Diagon Alley because he's got a score to settle. That's the entire reason why he's in Britain and in the wizarding world."

"A score? What type of a score would a black and red supersonic hedgehog have with a wizard?"

"What if I told you the wizard was Voldermort?"

There was total silence; Hermione could not even here Harry breathing at the other end.

"Harry?"

"If you told me the wizard was Voldermort" came the reply, slowly with an edge of violence. "Then I would wish him the best of luck."

"The best of luck?"

"Yes. I'll tell you in a moment. Did he say why he was after Voldermort?" Harry sounded agitated again.

"No." Hermione elected to keep Shadow's reasoning and the rest of his story secret. She knew Harry would tell nobody, bar Ron and Dumbledore, but it was enough. It wasn't her story to tell. "Now tell me what you meant by that previous statement."

She heard Harry go silent; if anything, the lack of noise seemed to intensify. Then, he spoke in an oddly hushed tone.

"What I am about to tell you is only known by me, Ron and Dumbledore. The contents of the prophecy. As the newspapers will have reported, it says that I am the only one who can defeat Voldermort. Aware of this?"

"Yes" said Hermione. She had shared a secret and know Harry was about to share his own. Despite the fact she believed she already knew the answer, she realized that she was sweating nervously with anticipation.

"Well, in a nutshell, it's the truth. I'm not at liberty to discuss the wording, according to Dumbledore, but the general gist is that one of us has to kill the other."

Harry fell silent. Hermione felt the first tears begin to slide down her face at the acknowledgment that her theory was true; she hadn't even realized her eyes had been watering. Harry would have to kill or be killed.

"God, Harry, that's horrible" she said, her voice choked.

"Please don't cry Hermione" said Harry soothingly. "It won't change anything. I know it's horrible, but sometimes you've just got to face up to these demons. After what happened to Sirius, I thought I would never recover, but you all put me back on my feet and gave me a reason to fight. And that's what I intend to do. And win."

Hermione heard a clinking sound and Harry spoke again.

"Sorry, just adding a few more coins to the machine before it cuts me off mid-sentence. And that would certainly diminish my credentials of being smart."

Hermione laughed and sniffed slightly. "I'll be here for you Harry. Everyone will."

"Thanks Hermione. It means a hell of a lot to me."

They continued with various bits of small talk for another five minutes; neither seemed to want to breach the topic of Voldermort or Shadow again, which both were secretly grateful for. Eventually, Hermione heard a clanging noise in a break in conversation from the line followed by Harry's voice.

"Well, that's all I can afford. When are you next going to Diagon Alley?"

Hermione was about to reply when she remembered that she was meant to be meeting up with Shadow that day. She quickly changed her answer.

"Er, Monday."

"Monday?"

"Yes, definitely Monday."

"Right, I'll try and see if I can meet you there. If you'd like?"

"With Ron?"

"Of course."

"Yeah, should be fun. I'll look forward to it."

"Good. I'll see you there then. Right, I've really got to go now."

"I shan't cost you any more then Mr Potter. Thanks for ringing by the way."

"Don't mention it. Okay, love you, bye."

"Love you too. Bye."

The receiver went down at both ends. In her house, Hermione stood starring at it, before she turned and walked back into the kitchen to make her sandwich. She felt better for having at least mentioned Shadow, but still upset for Harry's predicament. As she began to butter more bread, she felt a fresh set of tears threaten to unleash themselves from her eyes.

In Ottery St Catchpole, Harry squeezed himself out of the phone booth and found it empty. Checking his watch, he began to make his way in the direction of the Lovegoods. He felt bad for upsetting Hermione, but she would have wanted to know the truth rather than it be kept from her. Yet one thing still bugged him overall; why was Shadow the Hedgehog after Voldermort, and why had he rescued Hermione?

Harry decided that he would need to find out the truth. If Shadow was going after Voldermort, maybe the two of them could find some common ground. Even if that common ground was Hermione Granger.

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><p>AN: Yes, I know. There was no Shadow in that chapter, or indeed any Sonic characters. Indeed, the focus of the story is going to shift closer to Harry Potter for the next few chapters; this story is more rooted in the Harry Potter universe than it is in the Sonic universe. However, that doesn't mean Shadow's going to be isolated; Sonic is going to become one of the major players as events progress, as is a character yet to appear. As of this chapter, nearly all of the pieces are on the board, and all hell is about to break loose. In a way, this concludes the first act of this story; there are five and I have now got them all planned out, albeit not written fully. So, stay with WSIL because it's going to get a helluva lot better. Believe me!


	6. Dreaming of Me

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog or Harry Potter; they belong to SEGA and JK Rowling instead.

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><p>"Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such." - Henry Miller<p>

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><p>Once again, it was a beautiful day in Britain. Summer was in full swing and Shadow was strangely in the mood to enjoy the glorious weather. He wondered if it was because he liked the sunshine, but then reasoned it was probably because he was seeing Hermione Granger again.<p>

He couldn't recall many times in his existence where he had been looking forward to something so much. Upon the ARK, he had enjoyed his short time with Maria, but he had never really looked forward to it because she was always. He had realized many years that the line "You don't realize how much you miss something until it's gone" was one of many that could be used as a metaphor for aspects of his life. Upon his return, he had not especially looked forward to anything, including his revenge; to him, it was simply just an event that had to take place. In fact, looking back, this could have been the first time where he had actually been looking forward to something. Hermione was engaging, an aspect of a person Shadow always looked for; if the person could engage him in conversation, he was far more likely to get along with them. He had chosen to tell Hermione his story because she had been engaging, as well as a trustful. Shadow had been reminded by Maria of her so much, but after turning over Rouge's words in his head, he worked out that he wasn't actually projecting Maria onto Hermione; it was just that the two seemed to share some of the same attributes.

Shadow looked around and took in his surroundings. Dressed in the same red hoodie he had worn to escort Hermione back to Bedford, he was sat outside a cafe called White Rabbit, situated in Diagon Alley. The Alley had changed considerably since he had last visited it, even though that was only a matter of days. When he had first visited, the Alley had been buzzing with happy shoppers wearing bright garments, popping in and out of the various shops that littered the street, selling various wares. Now, just days after the attack, it had entered a state of semi-shutdown. Various shops were either closed or had hardly any customers; their window displays had been obscured by large purple posters with snarling faces of Death Eaters that had been stuck up by the Ministry to warn the public. Only a handful of shops appeared to actually be actively functioning, including the wizarding bank Gringotts (which Shadow had been surprised to learn was run by goblins when Hermione told him) and a practical joke shop named Weasley Wizard Wheezes; Shadow had no doubt it was the sort of shop where both Sonic and Eggman would have a field day. Hermione had predicted that they may have had to fight for a table at the cafe, yet Shadow was the only person outside to sample the weather; there were few other customers.

Shadow whistled slightly and looked back through the open cafe doorway to a clock on the wall. He had got here earlier than planned and still had half an hour to wait before his companion got to the Alley, but had figured he would rather wait for Hermione than get an earful from Rouge. Although she had calmed down, she still seemed almost possessive of him, which annoyed Shadow. Strangely, it had been Omega who had observed what the problem was; there had not been another female in Shadow's life besides Rouge, except for Maria who was long gone. He pointed out to Shadow that Rouge was probably jealous of Hermione and worried that she would be displaced as his friend. Shadow promised to himself to confront Rouge and tell her that nothing would change in their relationship; they would remain friends.

Shadow's mind began to wander as he waited, back to the meeting he had had with Sonic on the day he had met Hermione. True to his word, he had let Sonic stay in his hotel room, which had been a first. Neither of them had really slept, instead sitting in armchairs and pending their time either working out what was happening with Eggman or verbally abusing him instead; the latter had been more enjoyable. After a night of formulating ideas, the two had arrived at G.U.N. Headquarters early in the morning in order to get a conference room. They were granted one and entered where a member set up the video link for them.

The Commander appeared on screen after a few seconds of the link activating; he was dressed impeccably in military uniform, his grey hair neatly parted at one side and his miscoloured eyes glaring at the screen. He broke the stare after a moment.

"Oh, it's you Shadow."

"Hey!" said Sonic indignantly.

"And Sonic?" The Commander looked surprised. "What are you doing in G.U.N. Headquarters?"

"Wanting to speak to you on a matter of international security," said Sonic, folding his arms. "Concerning one Julian Robotnik."

"You mean Eggman?" questioned the Commander.

"His first name is Julian?" exclaimed Shadow, cutting across the Commander. "I thought it was Ivo!"

"Nah, it's Julian. I stole his birth certificate once," said Sonic, shrugging. "And his doctorate is made out in that name as well."

"Well, bugger me with a prize leek," said Shadow, drawing a disapproving look from the Commander.

"That's not appropriate language Shadow. You can only say that if there is a leek nearby for which can be used."

"I didn't mean it literally," said Shadow, wishing he hadn't said it.

"Anyway, enough of that," said Sonic, cutting back in. "The point is yesterday I battled Eggman near his base in Japan. He was testing out a new prototype of battleship and I decided to stop him before he could cause lasting damage."

"Go on."

"I confronted and insulted as is the norm. But against the norm, he didn't jump after me in a humongous mechanical contraption. Nor did he rise to my taunting."

"Was your taunting below standard?" quizzed the Commander.

"No sir, it was top class taunting."

"Hmmm." On screen, the Commander sat back in his chair and placed the tips of his fingers together as he mused over the information he had just been told. Shadow and Sonic both watched him, their expressions matching in a frown. Eventually, the Commander spoke again.

"This is indeed an unusual tactic for the good doctor," he murmured, so quietly that Shadow and Sonic strained to hear him. "It certainly does not reflect his… style."

"We decided to tell you because we we're hoping that you could shed some light on this, sir," asked Sonic, who had now sat himself down on the edge of the table. "After all, even I have my limits, although I tend not to admit to that."

"Too stuck-up," muttered Shadow under his breath and Sonic shot him a death mock glare.

"That's rich, coming from you," he pointed out, literally with a finger directed at Shadow. He simply shrugged.

"You got me there."

The Commander cleared his throat and both looked back at him.

"As I said, this is indeed most unusual behaviour, and that leaves us with one current option."

"Which is?" asked Sonic, eager to hear the answer.

"Do nothing," replied the Commander flatly.

There was a moment's stunned silence before Sonic began to protest, but the Commander cut him down after several ideas on what they could do to Eggman.

"We cannot do that, Sonic. And that last suggestion was a violation of the Geneva Convention."

"Actually, it was my suggestion," Shadow interjected, grinning. "I gave it to him last night."

"Whoever it was, it was wholly inappropriate. Don't mention it again." The Commander looked off-screen, then returned his gaze to the two hedgehogs. "Until we can get some more information, there is no reason to antagonize Doctor Eggman. Let's see what he is planning before we attempt to stop him. Otherwise, we're just wasting our resources trying to combat a phantom threat. And after the year we've had so far, I'd rather not get any more of our forces killed."

"Understood, Commander," replied Shadow with an air of practice. Sonic looked on the verge of arguing again, but decided against it and nodded sullenly.

"Good. Right, I have to go and deal with the president. Dismissed."

The Commander stood up and walked off-screen, before it faded to black. The lights came up in the previously dim conference room and Sonic turned to Shadow with an exasperated expression.

"Well that ruins my fun, doesn't it?" he commented. Shadow just shook his head and began to leave.

"Hey, where are you off to in such a hurry? Rouge and Omega waiting for you?" called Sonic. Shadow paused in the door, then turned back to his counterpart.

"Someone else is waiting for me," he replied. "Someone you don't know."

And with that, he left Sonic standing, confused, alone, in the conference room. He quickly made his way to the exit of G.U.N. Headquarters and emerged in the bright early sunlight of a summer day. He allowed himself a small smile, before he set off in the direction of Charring Cross.

Despite being a weekend, it took Shadow a relatively short amount of time to cross London, and he reached the Leaky Cauldron in no time at all. Looking around carefully, he pulled on the red hoodie that he had picked up just before he left and slipped comfortably into it before he pulled the hood up to obscure his identity. Dressed appropriately, he fixed his gaze on the corner and headed directly towards it, pressing his hand softly against the woodwork of the door and allowing it to creak open. He took one last glance into Muggle London behind him, before he entered and let the door swing shut behind him.

The Leaky Cauldron was as quiet as it had been the first time Shadow had passed through; the only time he had seen more than four patrons was when there had been the mad escape from the Death Eaters a few days previously. He passed swiftly through the building and exited into the small grubby courtyard at the pack where he brushed his glove over the corresponding bricks and watched as they parted to reveal the Alley. He stepped through and watched as they rematerialized into their original form behind him; it was fascinating to watch. He turned and headed off toward the destination where he was due to meant to Hermione. He reached the café, sat down, and ordered a coffee, before leaning back and staring vacantly at the sky, lost in contemplation and reminiscence of the events of the past few days.

He glanced again at the time; it had only been another five minutes. Shadow was still glad that he had arrived early, but it meant that he look a bit conspicuous sitting on his own. He picked up the mug and drank from it slowly; he had no need to drink as the Ultimate Life Form, but coffee seemed to have a positive effect on him as it made him more bearable, in Rouge's own words. He set it down and looked round again at the Alley; however, his eyes suddenly caught sight of a teenage girl walking towards him. From a distance, Shadow wouldn't have guessed that it was Hermione; she had straightened her hair and pulled it back in a loose ponytail, and unlike her more feminine clothing she had been wearing previously, she was also dressed in a hoodie and wore loose fitting jeans and trainers. It was a more casual look than Shadow would have guessed she was used to, but it suited her. Upon seeing Shadow half concealed beneath the hood, she smiled and picked up her pace slightly. She reached his table and set her handbag down on it before pulling out her purse.

"Hi Shadow," she said with a smile; Shadow thought she looked slightly nervous, an almost excited expression. "I'm just going to go get my own drink. Do you want anything?"

"Could I have another coffee please?" Shadow said from under the hood. "A cappuccino."

She nodded and bustled off into the cafe. She returned quickly with two mugs and passed one to Shadow who murmured a thanks. Hermione pulled out a chair and sat down opposite Shadow, leaning back. They regarded each other in an almost curious silence. Shadow broke it first.

"Hermione?"

"Hmmm?"

"Why is it that you like me?"

She was caught off guard by his question. "What do you mean by that?"

"For most of my life, I've been a cold anti-social bastard," Shadow said quietly, yet there was some form of steely resolution in his voice. "Yet you seemed to break through that and get me to talk about myself as I have never done before. No-one has ever had the full picture. Hell, even I haven't had the full picture myself before. Yet you seemed unfazed. Why?"

Hermione considered her answer for a moment before she replied.

"I could say that I owe you a life debt," she mused. "And whilst I probably do owe you one, I think that that isn't the reason why." She lifted her mug to her mouth and took a gulp before setting it back down on the table.

"So why?"

"Shadow, the moment I saw you in the newspapers, I was fascinated. I usually get the urge to research something at school, not at home, but I was hooked by you, and the whole mystery," she said softly, and Shadow could see that there was something, a glint of something, in her eyes. "When I actually met you, I couldn't believe it. It was if something from another world had appeared. And I'm already from two worlds, so you have to imagine how that blew me away as well."

Shadow gave a small grin, revealing his pointed tooth again. "You still haven't answered the question yet though, Miss Granger. Why do you like me?"

"Shadow... You seem to have a strong resolution, a sense of right and wrong. You would rather die than betray your friends after what you told me. You put your trust in me, and I can only return that and put my trust in you. You're a friend."

Shadow sat in silence as Hermione's words impacted him. With the exception of Maria, Shadow had never known friendship with another human; in fact, he hadn't known friendship with many others as well. But Hermione's words struck him as odd; instead of someone becoming his friend, he had become _their_ friend.

"Shadow?"

He shook himself and looked at Hermione who was staring back worriedly.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just... you're my friend as well." It felt weird that he was even speaking the words. He smiled. "I trust you, and I was hoping that you would feel the same way."

Hermione smiled back at him warmly; it made Shadow feel more at ease, now that he had got an answer. "Well, thank you Shadow. Now are you going to continue asking difficult questions."

Shadow grinned. "Not right now. Let's turn the tables though. Why don't you tell me about what you've been doing since our last meeting?"

"Being an anxious sort of person," replied Hermione with a sheepish grin. "My results for my OWLs – that's Ordinary Wizarding Levels – are meant to be coming soon, and I'm fretting over that. I know I'll have messed them up, I just know-"

"Hold on there," Shadow cut across her, raising a hand. "I'm sure that you will have done fine, Hermione. Smart girl like you, you'll have walked all over the exams."

"Thanks," Hermione replied, blushing slightly at the compliment.

"Don't mention it. Anything else?"

"Not really. I managed to avoid telling my parents that I had been rescued by a black hedgehog who saved the world twice though."

Shadow did something he very rarely did; he gave a genuine laugh. It sounded strange, but once he started, he had dissolved into a fit of laughter. Hermione stared at him, before she too started to giggle; soon both of them had their heads on the table and were unable to breathe.

"God, I haven't laughed like that since… I can't even remember," gasped Hermione, her eyes watering.

"I can't remember either," Shadow managed, gulping for air. "And I haven't laughed that much in my life anyway." He leant back, still breathing heavily. "It's weird how when you start, you can never stop. And it wasn't even that funny anyway."

"No, but who cares? It's quite therapeutic," added Hermione, as she also leant back, the red colour in her face beginning to slowly recede.

"You're telling me," Shadow murmured. "That felt good."

He looked at the blue sky and noticed a slight cloud the moved slowly. He watched it then, looked at Hermione again who was still recovering.

"Did you speak to Mister Potter then?"

Hermione raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Yes. And because you've been in the Muggle World, you won't have seen the newspapers. We're both in it."

Shadow's eyes widened. "Both of us?"

"No pictures and I'm not mentioned by name. But a journalist I have an on-going feud with published the story, so someone obviously saw it."

"That's not good," muttered Shadow. "I hate publicity in general, but if it's in the wizarding world, it's worse. Voldermort will probably know that I'm here now."

Hermione was silent for a moment, then nodded. "That's a blow."

"There is a positive though," said Shadow, and a feral grin crossed his face. "He'll be aware of how much damage I can do him now. He might put some of his plans on the backburner."

"We can hope so," sighed Hermione, as she took another sip of her drink. "We can hope so."

000

Harry was awoken by the sound of footsteps outside his room. He realized that it was already late morning, judging by the sunlight that was pouring through the half-opened curtains. Slowly, he reached to his bedside table for his glasses, just as there was a knock on his door and Ron and Ginny entered.

"I thought the idea of knocking on doors was so that the people behind them could let you in," Harry complained, with a half-serious look on his face as placed his glasses onto his face.

"Up!" barked Ron, ignoring Harry's sarcastic comment. "Quidditch, ten minutes! In the back yard! Hurry up!"

"What?" Harry cut across Ron's commands. "There's only three of us, you berk."

"Nah, Bill said he'd play with us," interjected Ginny, who had already tied her hair up into a braid. "Phlegm has gone to Diagon Alley with mum to search for more wedding things."

"Can Bill play Quidditch?" asked Harry as he swung his legs out of bed and stood up.

"He played at school, but only on occasion," said Ron as he walked over to open Harry's curtains fully. "He's the worst, except for Percy, who never saw the point of it."

"Percy only sees the point if it's stuck to Fudge's backside," commented Ginny; Harry stifled a laugh and went off to get his clothes out of the wardrobe.

"Pretty accurate description, Ginny. Now out please, there's going to be a naked man in here."

"Doesn't fuss me," Ginny answered, smirking. "I've seen it all before."

Ron turned around, looking alarmed, whilst Harry made no attempt to conceal his laughter. "WHAT did you just say?"

Ginny just winked and slid out of the room, shutting the door behind her. Ron immediately turned to face Harry.

"Do you think she was joking?" he asked with a tone of concern.

"Ask Dean," murmured Harry. "But I doubt it, otherwise we'd know about it from the twins making fun of you about it."

A look of relief crossed over Ron's features, before he clapped his hands together. "Right, come on. We're waiting on you."

"I know, I'll be down soon," Harry said, as he pulled a t-shirt and pair of old jeans that had once been Dudley's out of the wardrobe.

Ten minutes, later he was downstairs, where Ron, Ginny and Bill were waiting for him. Bill was dressed, similarly to harry, with his hair pulled back into a ponytail and his earing prominently visible. He gave Harry a grin and turned wordlessly. Harry looked at Ron who motioned for him to follow Bill.

"You're on his team, mate. We gave him the pick."

Harry nodded and exited after Bill who was waiting for him outside.

"Got your broom, Harry?" he asked as he tied the laces on his boots.

"In the shed."

"We'll go get it then. Front or back?"

"Where do you prefer, Bill? Ron said you only played occasionally."

"I was reserve keeper. So I'll play back, if that's fine with out." He unlocked the broom shed with a wave of his wand and handed Harry his Firebolt, pulling himself an old Cleansweep. "Come on, to the hill."

They passed Ron and Ginny as they headed out towards the large green sloping field that sat behind the Burrow. Bill swung his leg over his broom and kicked off, flying steadily into the air. Harry watched him for a moment, then mounted his own broom and took flight.

They played two-a-side Quidditch for most of the day, stopping only for a half-hour lunch break, and when they finally set down their brooms for the day, the sun was beginning to edge is way even closer towards the horizon. The sky was a darker blue, tinged with a wonderful orange and pink stretch that gave it an almost watercolour feel to the setting. Harry whistled, then set off after the remaining three down towards the house again.

As he reached the bottom, he suddenly noticed that Bill had stopped the other two with a raise of his hand. He quickened his pace and reached the trio. Ron and Ginny both looked confused, but a dark expression was on his face.

"Wands at the ready, kids," he murmured. "Someone's broken through the wards."

Harry, Ron and Ginny all froze in shock. They stood there rigid, staring vacantly at the Burrow, with identical expressions of horror. Ron was the first to recover and he dug his wand out of his pocket with a trembling hand. Both Harry and Ginny copied his movements and the three lined up at Bill's side. They threw their broomsticks behind them.

"Don't move just yet," whispered Bill as he raised his wand and directed it, not at the house, but away, towards the sky. Wordlessly, he waved his wand and a jet of white light, turning into the shape of an animal, sprouted forward and flew away.

"Getting word to the Ministry and the family," Bill said in an undertone. "Tell them there is someone here."

"Do you think it's Death Eaters?" asked Ron nervously; his last encounter had not gone down that well.

"I somehow doubt that it's the milkman." They all stood still, before Bill lowered his wand and pointed it at the house. Then, slowly, he took a step forward.

At once, a loud, klaxon-like wail rent the silence apart. Bill immediately broke into a run and the other three followed him as they stormed towards the house. Harry could hear voices shouting from the inside and as they were about fifty feet away, the door at the back that led into the kitchen was blown off its hinges. Three Death Eaters emerged, wands raised, their jewelled masks glinting in the evening sunlight. Bill skidded to a halt and raised a Shield Charm as the Death Eaters fired spells at them. Harry quickly reached Bill and added his own weight to the spell, whilst Ron and Ginny fired hexes back quickly. Two of the Death Eaters dodged, but the third was not so lucky; a large bat had sprouted up around his nostrils and he was trying desperately to get it off.

"Get back, you creep!" shouted Ginny as she fired more curses at her opponents; both Death Eaters managed to defend them, then both suddenly raised Shields of their own, whilst the third managed to banish the bat from his face. Ron and Ginny paused in their spellcasting, with both sides staring across at each other, their defensive charms holding fast. Harry looked at Bill, who seemed confused.

"Something's not right here," he muttered under his breath.

Then, they heard it.

The sound of clapping.

At first, it was so soft, that Harry believed it was simply his heart hammering in his chest, or the blood running through his body twice as fast. But they gradually became louder, although remained muffled. Harry's eyes were drawn to the door of the Burrow, where the two Death Eaters stood either side, like sentries, their shields upright.

A figure clad in black emerged. Unlike the additional Death Eaters, he did not wear a mask or a hood, which revealed his visage. Harry felt a certain degree of terror at the man's face; it made Moody look like a dashing bachelor. The right hand side of the man's face was perfectly normal, clean shaven, with the occasional scar. But the left side of his face was a different matter. It had obviously been subjected to fire, and no-one had been able to heal it; the entire top layer of skin had been burnt off, leaving messy scab wounds barely covering the pink, stringy muscle underneath. His left eye appeared deepened into his socket by the burns, yet it stared, unblinking, at the four. His lips were all put gone, yet his teeth remained underneath, twisted into a cruel, mocking smile.

From somewhere in the past, Harry remembered a Muggle comic-book character. He wondered if this man had been injured in similar circumstances, or if this was the result of a hideous spell. It was more likely the latter.

"Gentlemen," the man started, in a drawl reminiscent of Lucius Malfoy. "And lady," he added, upon spotting Ginny. "My name is Dexter. And I will be your executioner for the evening. Please, enjoy the show."

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><p>Shadow laughing! Hermione laughing! Harry not laughing! What other surprises lay in store? The answer is: a surprise! Because now we are into the groove, with everything about to explode. Prepare for the first REAL battle of Within Shadow Is Light. Don't miss the next installment of it!<p> 


	7. Damaged People

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog or Harry Potter; they belong to SEGA and JK Rowling instead.

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><p>"You've got to keep fighting - you've got to risk your life every six months to stay alive." - Elia Kazan<p>

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><p>There was silence between the two parties as the Death Eater who had introduced himself as Dexter smirked at them from across the garden. Harry studied the cold, flesh-stripped visage of the man with intent, trying to see if he could discern anything, but no avail; he was completely detached, his only emotion a sardonic smile that seemed to tease them. He saw the fingers of his gloved hand slip almost casually, yet silently, towards his wand which was held in a black leather holster strapped to his right side.<p>

"No welcome?" he continued, smiling more openly and revealing more of his fine white, individually pointed teeth. "Do I not get a single response from any of you?"

"Who the hell are you?" asked Bill, his wand still pointed at the Death Eaters, the faint hum of the Shield Charm perceptible in the cool evening air; a few mosquitoes buzzed around the edges and were immediately fried when the touched the magical energy.

"Not exactly professional etiquette, William," sighed the Death Eater, shaking his head; Harry thought he saw Bill falter slightly at the use of his first name. "But I will repeat myself. My name is Dexter. I do not have any other name, neither first or last. It is my professional name and the only name I answer to. And, as I mentioned, my vocation is that of formal dinner part host and elite assassin."

"You mean you're not actually a Death Eater?" queried Ron as he kept his wand trained on the Death Eaters either side of Dexter.

"Me? No, I am not a Death Eater," replied Dexter, rolling back his left sleeve to show a burnt forearm; Harry could not make out a mark amongst the discoloured flesh. "But that doesn't mean that I am not a sympathizer. I believe that the Muggle term for my profession would be gun-for-hire. I simply offer my services to the highest bidder."

"An assassin," Bill spat contemptuously. "I've met your kind before, in Egypt. You always seem to never give up, no matter how many of your limbs the traps remove."

"As you can see from my appearance William, I was caught once," replied Dexter coolly, indicating his burns. "A rather difficult hit in China led to me being captured and tortured quite brutally. But, as you so rightly observed, we assassins never give up. I broke out, killed my target, escaped the country on a flying carpet and made it back here to good old Britain."

"Being caught was no more than you deserved," Ginny added venomously, staring at the Death Eater with a fiery hatred in her eyes; Dexter turned his gaze idly upon her.

"Perhaps. But that was one of my, ah, more heroic adventures. I was hired by the Ministry for Magic himself, no less." He paused, appearing to savour the effect this had on Ginny as a look of shock crossed her face, only to be replaced by a dark look. "Not Fudge, rather his predecessor. It was one of his final acts before he retired. He wanted to get rid of a rather tricky political opponent globally and brought the best man for the job in to do it. I must say, I was rewarded handsomely for my services. I could have retired, sought treatment for my injuries, but I figured this would add a whole new dimension to my exploits."

"That still doesn't explain why you are dressed in the robes of a Death Eater," Harry pointed out dryly. "Unless they stole your normal clothes as part of the deal."

For the first time, a look of anger flashed across the abnormal features of the man, but it was as gone as quickly as it had come. He seemed to relax slightly more and stared Harry directly in the eye.

"Ah, yes, the wonderful Harry Potter," he said, with a silky voice that still carried an air of immediate danger to it. "A good question. You see, Death Eaters never let anyone work with them openly, so I had to fit in. Lord Voldermort required me to wear these robes in order to fit in. He sends you his regards and wishes you a painful journey to hell."

"Well, tell him I'm not going quietly," Harry replied evenly, holding his wand steady, keeping the shield up in front of his friends. "In fact, tell him I'm not going at all."

"I won't be telling him anything, because you will have already gone." Dexter gave a cruel smile. "There are four of you against seven of us. You may have only seen four but I assure you that my remaining three will be with us shortly. They were seeing to some, ah, housekeeping duties."

There was the sudden sound of apparition and three more Death Eaters appeared between the two parties. They glanced at the stalemate and shields and quickly moved back to their own comrades, slipping behind the magical protective field.

"We've done it, sir," one of the new arrivals said in a gruff voice. "The old fool has the ring. He doesn't know that it is cursed."

"Good job, Braithwaite," replied Dexter, without taking his eyes from Harry. "Line up beside me, we've got a killing to do."

The Death Eaters all stepped into line with Dexter, and the remainder drew their wands. Harry heard Ginny audibly gulp.

"I'm sorry that we'll have to cut this chat short, but I do get a time bonus if I get this done with more quickly. If you stay quite still, I will grant you all a rather speedy death."

The line of cloaked figures raised their wands.

"Harry, grab my arm," whispered Bill hurriedly. Harry complied and tightly grasped the offered limb; Ron and Ginny did the same, the four of them drawn together in a tight huddle. "Hold on tight, this may hurt."

"What?" mouthed Harry, but Bill ignored him. Dexter had raised his wand arm, the following Death Eaters repeating the movements. There was only the sound of a light breeze and birdsong; Harry really could hear his heartbeat now.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" came a cry of unison, and at once Harry felt himself jerk backwards as Bill pulled him. Suddenly, there was a blur of colour and a sharp pain; he felt as if he was being crushed slowly to death. He felt his eyes roll backwards, his lungs begin to cave in, and his body twist at impossible angles –

Suddenly, he was back on his feet and gasping for air, massaging his neck, breathing loudly. His vision returned in perfect clarity and he made out Ron and Ginny repeating the motions; Bill however, was stood at the window, his wand drawn, hidden behind a curtain.

"What was that?" Ron managed as he began to stand up again.

"Side-along apparition," murmured Bill. "It's the only way I could get us out of there."

"But where exactly are we?" Harry questioned Bill as he tried to make out the features of their location in the semi-darkness, but it was Ginny who answered.

"My room. And Bill is most likely looking out of the window at the Death Eaters down in the yard and garden who are wondering where the hell we went."

As if on cue, they hear the gruff-voiced Death Eater known as Braithwaite shout.

"Where the hell did they go?"

"Quiet, Braithwaite" came Dexter's calming tones. "It's almost sickeningly obvious. They're inside the house."

Bill shifted into the window and raised his wand quickly.

"REDUCTO!" he shouted; the spell flew from the end of his wand and collided with Braithwaite; he was sent spiralling through the air, partially disintegrating as he went. At the cry, all the remaining Death Eaters turned to face the window, but Bill had already ducked down from view.

"Out of the room, now!" he mouthed as a couple of curses flew through the open window and smashed Ginny's door off its hinges. The three complied and they crawled on all fours, with Bill bringing up the rear, out onto the staircase. They moved their way out of the doorframe and righted themselves, leaning against the walls.

"Wands out, kiddies," Bill warned them. "This is more than likely going to get ugly."

They all drew their wands again and Bill motioned for them to stand next to him. From downstairs, they heard the sound of the Death Eaters crashing back into the kitchen. They heard Dexter as the rest of the voices calmed down.

"Wands out, gentlemen. We were careless just then, and I don't want a repeat. There are still six of us, and we are all far more experienced. I do not want anymore slip-ups, understand?"

There was a general muttering of agreement; Harry tightened his grip on his wand as Bill slowly began to descend the long staircase towards the kitchen, Ron and Ginny behind him.

"Good. Now, get ready. I doubt they intend to run this time. Take up positions."

Bill suddenly started forward at such a speed that Harry thought he had slipped and fallen. Then, he realized that he was attempting to catch the Death Eaters off guard before they had set up their attacking strategy. Ron must have come to the same conclusion as he started forward directly after Bill, but Ginny hung back for the briefest of moments, halting Harry as he attempted to pass her.

"Stay with me," she whispered, and Harry thought he could see tears in her eyes. "On the stairs, please."

Harry nodded; she lowered her arm and he edged in front of her on the staircase, watching as Bill and Ron both started blasting hexes left and right from the foot of the stairs. He heard the cries of some of the Death Eaters as the pair quickly retreated back up the staircase. Ginny reached past Harry and cast a shield in front of her brothers as return fire flew towards them; it impacted, but failed to break through.

"Thanks, Ginny!" called Bill over the sound of the spells ricocheting around the room below. He turned to Harry. "I think we got one, didn't we Ron?"

Harry turned to Ron for a response, but stopped as he was about to speak. Ron was slumped against the side of the staircase and was looking directly at Harry; he was pale and there was a hollow, dead look in his eyes. He glanced down at his chest, and Harry let his eyes travel to where he was looking. His shirt had been ripped jaggedly, a large gaping hole prevalent. But it was the skin underneath that terrified Harry. It had a black patch that was slowly spreading across his chest, the inevitable signs of dark magic.

"No..." he whispered, his eyes wide; Ron raised his head and gave a crooked smile.

"That went well," he murmured faintly, before he collapsed and fell onto the stairs. Harry opened his mouth to shout but no words came out. Bill and Ginny looked on, horror-struck, at their brother as he lay on the stairs, his eyes half-closed, a smile etched onto his features. He was not moving.

"Harry, take over attacking now!" shouted Bill as the sound of curses and hexes intensified, the Death Eaters more intent than ever on finishing the job in hand. "Ginny, keep that shield up for as long as you can!"

As Harry directed his wand and began to cast a curse, he saw Bill crouch down next to Ron and quickly start muttering incantations out loud out of the corner of his eye. He could see Bill's panic-stricken expression as he hurriedly traced over the black patch but it didn't seem to be clearing up. If anything, it seemed to be speeding up. He focused himself again on the Death Eaters, their appearances distorted by the energy of the shield. He raised his wand arm and pointed it at what seemed to be the biggest.

"Aquada!" he shouted. The blue jet of light spun through the shield and hit the Death Eater full on in the face. Harry saw the body drop to the floor as some of the Death Eaters cried at each other.

"_What the hell_? _He's bleeding water_!"

"Potter seems to have a few tricks up his sleeve. Quickly, more tactical assault!"

Again, Harry could see black shapes swiftly moving, reorganizing themselves. Harry took this moment to look over at Bill who was crouched over Ron.

"I'm sorry you two, but I'm going to have to take Ron to St. Mungo's," Bill said as he grabbed Ron's arm; the younger Weasley brother still did not move. "I'll try and send reinforcements and be back myself as soon as I can."

He stood up and planted a kiss on Ginny's head as she concentrated on the shield, then, with a _pop_, he vanished, along with Ron's injured body. Harry turned to face Ginny and could see tears beginning to trickle down her freckled face. He wanted to hug her, to tell her that everything was going to be alright, but he couldn't lose focus, not now, not–

There was an almighty explosion as the shield gave way and both Harry and Ginny were sent spinning backwards, writhing in pain as they flew through the air. They both crashed onto the stairs, and Harry thought he heard a distant crack as Ginny screamed out. Her screams were suddenly silenced by a Death Eater with a wave of his wand as Dexter reached the foot of the stairs and looked up at them.

"It seems that your best wasn't enough, Mr. Potter. It is a shame that I will have to defy the Dark Lord's orders to take you back to him; I intend to kill you here and now, as well as your little friend. Shaw, bring them from the stairs and down here where I can have some fun with them."

Harry felt a rough hand grab him at the scruff his neck and begin to drag his beaten body down the stairs, his wand slipping from his grasp as he went. He tried to resist it but found that he didn't have the power. He looked at Ginny, who was being dragged along beside him, blood dripping from her nose, staining her cardigan. She looked at Harry and gave a weak smile, but she seemed unable to speak anything else and instead closed her eyes. Harry could see that the tears were falling silently, but the Death Eaters seemed to have not noticed. They brought the two of them into the kitchen, and took Harry round the opposite side of the table so that he was facing the staircase and Ginny. Both of them were bent over the table and Harry felt his hands become magically bound behind his back with conjured ropes. He saw the same thing happening to Ginny. She had opened her eyes again and a fearful look was prevalent on her features.

"We do have to kill the both of you, and we will deal with the rest of the Weasleys later," Dexter spoke softly as he walked around the table; he disappeared from Harry's eye line and he could only guess that the mercenary was stood behind him. "But I don't see why we shouldn't have a spot of fun. You may have taken out three of us, but at four against two, we still outnumber you comfortably."

He reappeared in front of Harry, stood next to Ginny; he was dragging his gloved hand slowly through her red hair. Harry felt a sickening sensation in the pit of his stomach. He felt as if he already knew what was going to happen before Dexter spoke.

"Strip he from the waist down," he ordered. Ginny's eyes widened in horror.

"No!" cried Harry. "You can't do that!"

"We can do anything we want," replied Dexter, smirking. "We're in control."

As he spoke, two Death Eaters started to remove Ginny's jeans. She tried to kick them away but seemed to be in too much pain to do anything about it. Tears were now streaming down her face, but still she made no sound. Harry tried to struggle against his bonds, but an unseen hand smashed his head into the table, dizzying him. He raised his unfocused gaze to see Ginny still struggling; although he couldn't see anything else, he saw her jeans tossed casually to one side by a Death Eater. He felt violently sick and clamped his eyes shut.

"I think that you will enjoy the show," Dexter spoke with an almost delicate smugness, underlined by a hint of menace. "And if you don't, you can't get a refund." Harry heard these last words and opened his eyes, starring with a cold fury at the assassin, who simply smiled darkly back at him. For the first time that night, he heard Ginny openly sob.

_Please God_, thought Harry. _Please let it end_.

There was a faint sound, like a rush of wind, for a second, before all the windows suddenly exploded. Glass shattered into a million pieces and flew like shrapnel through the air. One of the Death Eaters, the one behind Ginny, was caught in the side of the head; it tore through the fabric and embedded itself in the tissue, causing him to scream in pain. At the same time, Harry felt the enchantments on him lift. He spun round, pulling his head back, and then, brought it forward, colliding with the Death Eater. The pain was extreme but he bore it as he brought his knee up into the man's crotch sharply, twisting it. The man howled out and bent over double as Harry delivered an elbow to the back of the neck. He crumpled to the floor and Harry spun round. The remaining two Death Eaters, including the glassed one, and Dexter had all vanished, but from the shouting outside, Harry could guess where they had gone. Ginny was still in her bonds bent over the table; Harry hurried round and, averting his gaze from her underwear, undid the ropes bounding her. As soon as she was free, she stood up and clutched onto Harry, beginning to sob openly into his shoulder. He held her tightly for a moment, before releasing her.

"Stay in here, and make sure he doesn't move," he told her as he grabbed her jeans and threw them to her, before he darted up the stairs to seize his wand.

She sniffed and nodded as she began to pull her clothing back on. "Be careful," she called after him as he headed towards the door. He turned and looked at her briefly; there was a fiery passion mingled with a cold menace in his eyes as he turned away and exited the house.

As he emerged into the yard, Harry could see the last traces of daylight begin to creep away; the horizon was no longer orange, simply a pink stretch surrounded by an almost black blue. He held his wand out in front of him as he progressed, igniting the tip to shed some light. In front of him was one of the most bizarre scenes he had ever seen.

The remaining three Death Eaters were stood in front of him in a disjointed line; they had removed their masks and hoods and, like Harry, held their wands in front of them, illuminating the figure that stood twenty yards in front of them. Harry squinted and saw a vaguely human shape; as he drew nearer to the Death Eaters, he saw that it was not a human at all, but a anthropomorphic hedgehog, with blue fur, a tan muzzle, white gloves, and red and white shoes. Like Harry himself, he had deep emerald-green eyes that seemed to shine even brighter in the jets of light that fell on him.

Harry gasped.

Sonic the Hedgehog.

His mind had temporarily spun out of control as he tried to process why Sonic the Hedgehog was in the back yard of the Burrow, being confronted by Death Eaters. There was an obvious answer somewhere, but he wasn't thinking straight enough to accept it as the truth. He refocused his gaze on Dexter, who stood with his wand directed at the newcomer, sweat dripping on his burnt face.

"Who are you?" he asked, and Harry was surprised at the calm in his voice, even if it did sound forced; the man was keeping cool in the face of what was certainly most unexpected.

"I think it would be more polite if you introduced yourselves first," replied Sonic tersely; his arms were folded across his chest, and he wore a grim expression. "After all, you're the ones with the wands."

Harry blinked rapidly; the hedgehog knew about magic? As rationality started packing its bags in order to desert him completely, a notion formed in his head; of course Sonic would know of wizards if Shadow did.

It fit together at once; Sonic was here because of Shadow, and therefore, because of Hermione. Harry could only hope that something terrible hadn't befallen her as well as the Burrow.

"If that is the case, then I shall," replied Dexter, assuming the air of self-importance he had carried at the beginning of the evening; he noticeably drew himself up slightly more. "My name is Dexter and I am a mercenary. Now, you."

"Heh, I didn't expect you to reply," muttered the hedgehog sarcastically. "I'm Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog. Anyone recognize me?"

The two Death Eaters shook their heads; Dexter, however, nodded after a moment.

"I have," he answered slyly. "I must confess that as a wizard, I do not keep abreast of Muggle affairs, but as I travel the world, I was bound to have heard your name."

"I'm flattered," Sonic returned dryly. "So now it's my turn for the question. What the _hell_ are you doing?"

"I should have thought that quite obvious in my job description. I'm trying to kill someone."

Sonic rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out of the corner of his mouth. "I'd guessed as much. I was looking more for a why, but by the style of your outlandish dress sense, I'd hazard a guess that you're Death Eaters."

Both Harry and the Death Eaters seemed staggered that Sonic was aware of the terminology. However, before any could object, he started talking again.

"You're also probably wondering how come the glass shattered. That was because of my speed."

"Your speed?" mocked one of the Death Eaters, the one with glass in his face; the pain was evident. "Only a sonic boom could have smashed those windows." Dexter sent him a glare, but quickly turned back to Sonic, who had an almost lazy smile on his face.

"It's funny you should mention that. I was hoping you weren't as dumb as you looked and that you may have put two and two together, but it looks like I'm going to have to spell it out for you."

Before anyone could respond, Sonic was standing on the opposite side of the yard, with the aforementioned Death Eater pinned to the wall. He had a dazed expression and did not seem to be moving.

"You all saw that, didn't you?" he replied, as he fiddled with his gloves in an absent minded fashion. "I ran into him."

Harry had seen Sonic simply move forward like a blur and collide with the Death Eater; but his rationality was now attempting to hail a taxi in order to get the hell out of his mind and as a result, he was slightly slow on acknowledging it.

Dexter, on the other hand, had no problems; he had recovered mentally. It was something he needed as an assassin.

"Golton, get him!" he shouted; the other Death Eater fumbled with his wand, and Harry's rationality suddenly decided that it wasn't worth the hassle leaving and came back to him in a flash. He spun round and directed his wand at the Death Eater.

"Viscus Repulso!" he shouted. The Death Eater froze, then promptly threw up his own intestines and a large amount of blood. He collapsed to the ground and continued to spew blood, growing paler as he did. Harry felt disgusted by the scene, but quickly turned his back on it to where Sonic and Dexter were both starring at him. There was silence, before Dexter rose his wand.

"I honestly didn't think you had it in you, Harry," he said, and for the first time, Harry could hear cracks in the man's voice. "But it stops right here. AVAD –"

The man was cut off mid-sentenced as Sonic barrelled into him; Harry watched as the hedgehog smashed into the man with a closed fist and caught him squarely in the jaw. As the mercenary began to stumble, Harry saw his chance.

"Incendio!" he yelled. At once, a jet of fire sprouted from his wand and caught the man full on; Sonic leapt out of the way as it collided. Dexter screamed as the fire engulfed him, but Harry kept on mercilessly shooting it out, until the screams subsided.

"Aguamenti," he said softly as he extinguished the flames; Dexter was virtually unrecognizable, his new burns still glowing in comparison with the dead-looking old flesh on the opposite side. Harry stared at the smoking carcass before he turned around and looked at the remaining Death Eater. He suddenly felt the urge to vomit.

"Christ," he muttered, before he emptied the comments of his stomach over the stones. At once, he felt a soft hand on his back and another one holding him steady.

"I don't have much experience with people throwing up, but I suppose I've gotta start somewhere," came a voice from the right hand side. Harry gave a small chuckle as he began to dry heave.

"I'm never done that before," he murmured. "Killed a man. But like you said, you've got to start somewhere."

There came a noise of agreement from the voice, before Harry felt himself pulled upright. The hedgehog was shorter than him by about eight inches, but still carried an air of power.

"I wouldn't advise making a habit of killing," he said. "But it was self defence. Both were going to kill you and you reacted. And, face it Harry, you were going to have to kill one day. You don't get an easy break in life."

Harry nodded, and held out his hand to the hedgehog. "Harry. Harry Potter."

He grasped it firmly. "Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog."

Harry smiled, for the first time that night. "I know who you are. I still live with Muggles."

Sonic gave a dry smile. "And I think you know the reason I'm here."

"Did Hermione ask you?"

"Shadow asked me on her behalf. He said that she seemed worried something was going to happen. By the looks of things, I think I got here just in time."

Harry sighed. "Ron's gone to the hospital. He got hit by something." It struck him as odd that he was able to discuss people he knew Sonic would never have even met or heard of at least forty eight hours earlier, yet it seemed natural. "I have to take Ginny there as well."

"Is it London?"

"Yes. A short run for you, but I don't feel up to getting there the magical way."

"We've got a car waiting," Sonic replied, with a distasteful tone in his voice. "Never saw the point of them. Too slow for my liking."

Harry smiled. "Sonic, I think I'm going to like you."

"Of course you will." He winked and stuck his tongue out again. "I'm Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog."

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><p>So there it was; the first real battle. But what next for our heroes, including Harry and his newfound ally Sonic? The answer: more action! More adventure! More comedy! All of the above! Don't go anywhere, stay with Within Shadow Is Light!<p> 


	8. Fragile Tension

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog or Harry Potter; they belong to SEGA and JK Rowling instead.

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><p>"Trust instinct to the end, even though you can give no reason." - Ralph Waldo Emerson<p>

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><p>The motorway into London was relatively quiet as the large car cruised at a steady pace down the inside carriageway, its headlights carving a bright path through the darkness. Inside it, seated in the back, Harry stroked Ginny's hair as she laid her head on his shoulder. She had stopped crying and instead appeared to be suffering from shock. She wasn't the only one; shortly after he had got into the car, Harry had felt an overwhelming tiredness overcome him and the ability to do most things had deserted him. It had probably gone to argue with his rationality about it attempting to leave in a time of crisis and why it should never desert its post ever again.<p>

Sonic sat opposite, staring expressionlessly out of the window and into space. He was talking on a Muggle headset; Harry would have found it unusual for a hedgehog to be using such sophisticated technology, but he didn't really give a damn at the current moment. It had been an out of the ordinary evening to say the least.

After they had introduced themselves properly, Harry and Sonic had both decided that the bodies should be removed. Not wanting the Ministry to poke even further into his life, Harry had performed the Reductor Curse on all three bodies, leaving them as piles of dust that were swept away in the night breeze.

"That's one thing sorted then," Sonic said as he watched the last remnants float away into the night; the sun had finally set and the moon was beginning an ascent towards the heavens. "A substantial lack of evidence."

"That's just the way I want it," muttered Harry as he looked into the dark sky; it was lit with a hundred stars. "Come on, I best introduce you to a Miss Ginny Weasley."

The two turned around, and walked towards the Burrow. They stepped over the broken door and into the kitchen, where Ginny was against a wall, her wand still trained on the unconscious Death Eater. She turned her glance to Harry as he entered.

"I heard voices," she said nervously. "I heard you speaking to –"

She stopped dead in her voice as her eyes wandered to Sonic. Unlike Harry, Ginny had never heard of Sonic the Hedgehog as she was a pureblood witch. The fact that there was an anthropomorphic creature wearing gloves and shoes stood next to Harry was a shock.

There was silence for a moment, before Sonic broke the ice.

"That would've been me. I'm Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog. And you are?"

Ginny seemed to regain some of her composure; if Harry hadn't freaked out, then there was no reason for her to either. And the creature seemed friendly enough.

"Ginny," she answered, taking a deep breath to steady herself. "Ginny Weasley."

She held out her hand and Sonic firmly took it for a moment before he released it. He turned to Harry.

"I'll go call for the car whilst you handle the explanations. Seems like she might be in shock."

"I can't imagine why," Harry mumbled under his breath, but Sonic didn't seem to catch it as he exited the house again. He turned to Ginny who was watching after Sonic with a shocked expression on his face. He moved closer to her and pulled her into a tight hug.

"This is going to take some time," he whispered softly into her ear.

000

It was around eight in the evening when Shadow, escorting Hermione back towards St Pancras Station, received the news that the Burrow had been attacked. They had been heading down the stairs into the Underground at Charring Cross when there had suddenly been a beep from Shadow's fur near his left ear.

Hermione spun round in surprise as Shadow paused, a look of alarm crossing his features before he raised a finger to her, using his free hand to reach up to the hands-free earpiece.

"_Shadow_?"

"Speaking. What is it, Omega?"

There was a pause before the robot answered.

"_It seems the girl's fears were justified. Signs of Death Eater activity took place at the Burrow_."

Hermione saw Shadow's expression darken; he quickly turned away from her.

"Any casualties?"

"_One in hospital, one with them. Two picked up by Sonic. There about to set off for the hospital in London. Called St Mungo's_."

"And the Death Eaters?"

"_All but one deceased. Ministry of Magic yet to respond to distress call_."

"Thanks Omega. Tell Sonic I will see him at the hospital. Which one was it by the way who was hospitalized?"

"_The younger Weasley brother. Elder brother with him. Weasley girl and Harry Potter picked up by G.U.N. forces_."

"Thanks again. I'll be in touch."

"_Affirmative_." There seemed to be something other than neutrality in Omega's voice. "_Out._"

The sound of the receiver being put down could be heard. Shadow sighed and turned to Hermione, who was regarding him with confusion. He motioned for her to move to one side, so they were against the wall of the stairwell. She did so and he stood next to her.

"You were right about the Death Eaters," he spoke quietly. Hermione's eyes widened in fear and she gasped, clamping a hand to her mouth.

"No," she cried. "No!"

"No casualties. Ron's in hospital with Bill, and Harry and Ginny are with Sonic." Shadow gave another sigh. "Thank God you asked me to look over it. By the sounds of things, Sonic intervened, but I don't have the full picture yet."

Hermione's expression of horror was replaced by one of relief, but she seemed to be shaking slightly.

"It was only a precaution," she whispered. "And I only asked you earlier today."

"It just shows I trust your judgement, doesn't it?" Shadow answered softly, and she gave a watery smile. "Take my hand, let's move to St. Mungo's." He paused for a moment, then looked at the ground. "Uh, do you know where it is?"

She nodded. "We need to take the tube to Mansion House. That's the closest station to St. Mungo's. Or we could just walk, it's not that far."

Shadow nodded. "Let's do that. I feel like a small child on the tube compared to everyone else."

Hermione gave a laugh; shaky, but genuine. She kept hold of his hand as she guided him out and back into the streets.

000

Back in the car, Harry noticed that Sonic had removed his headpiece and was staring at him. He grunted slightly and turned his attention from the now-sleeping Ginny to the hedgehog across from him.

"I've just been on the phone with several people. Firstly, G.U.N. who passed on to Hermione and Shadow that you're safe. I've just come off the line as well with St. Mungo's."

Harry straightened himself up and felt his heartbeat increase.

"And?" he asked, pain in his voice.

"He's alive and stable," replied Sonic, with careful neutrality to his tone. "He's not well, but he'll live."

Harry released a breath he hadn't realized that he had been holding. "Thank God," he murmured. He turned and nudged Ginny gently. Her eyelids fluttered and she sleepily raised her head.

"Huh?"

Harry reached an arm round her and pulled her closer. "Ron and Bill are fine," he said quietly into her ear. She gave a little gasp, then began to tremble again slightly, although the tears did not come. Harry held her tightly and turned his head back to Sonic again.

"Any other news?"

Sonic nodded. "I've had someone inform Shadow; he said that he and Hermione would meet us at the hospital. The other Weasleys are all safe and have been notified but are being kept in protection for the current moment. On an unrelated note, Percy Weasley, is back with his family."

"Percy?" spoke Ginny, with a sudden wariness in her tone. "What does he want?"

"He was notified on Ron's injury and met with William at St. Mungo's. He went back to his family and apologized immediately apparently," said Sonic, before he smirked. "God, I sound so boring. Usually I'm the one being briefed by militaristic commanders. This is way out of character for me."

Both Harry and Ginny laughed.

"Well, we know enough," Harry said after he had stopped chuckling. "So you can stop."

"Cheers." Sonic lent back in his chair lazily and a frown crept across his features. "I hate cars. They're slow as hell."

"I'm used to brooms, personally," replied Harry as he stroked Ginny's hair again; she seemed more relaxed at the news that her family had reconciled, as if it had numbed the pain from Ron's situation.

"Never tried one," replied Sonic, grinning. "Seeing as I had no idea about wizards until around a fortnight ago, it's hardly unsurprising. I like to try and keep my feet on the ground anyway."

Harry and Ginny laughed again, and settled back, more comfortable in the knowledge their friend and brother was still there and still fighting. The car continued on down the motorway, heading closer to the outskirts of London, before they passed into its boundary. Dark countryside was replaced by dark buildings, but harry hardly paid any attention as he spent the time chatting with Sonic instead. Sonic had explained to Harry how Shadow had come to Britain in order to find Voldermort. It was then Harry's turn to bring Sonic up on Voldermort and himself in the wizarding World. He deliberately left out the prophecy, and when he got to Sirius and found himself choking up slightly, Sonic cut across him.

"By the sounds of things, you've been through a hell of a lot," he said kindly. "I thought I was busy, but I always have a choice. If you don't want to speak about it, that's fine. You're a bit like Shadow, so I can relate to you."

Harry stared in surprise. "Me? Like Shadow? Why?"

"Well, aside from the Voldermort connection," replied Sonic, reaching behind his ear to scratch it. "You seem to be like him. Very closed off from strangers, not wanting to share, emotionally constrained, yet strong, resourceful and purposeful. Contrary to popular belief, Shadow's not heartless. Hermione must've got through to him quickly though."

"She doesn't usually have that effect," Harry mused. "Usually, she's a bit stand-offish. Fine when you know her, but otherwise..."

He trailed off, before a sudden unanswered question struck him and he spoke again.

"You still haven't fully explained how come you were there, Sonic."

"It's an interesting story," the hedgehog began, a tone of some confusion in his own voice. "This morning, Shadow left after a conference to go somewhere; he wouldn't tell me who though. I let it go and continued on with my day as I normally would when I'm with the men in black. Later, I got a call from him, and he explained he was with a witch."

"Hermione?"

"Yes. Although I didn't see her, we spoke, all three of us together; I think they were calling from his communication piece and he'd put the microphone on. Anyway, she filled me in on you, and Ron, and the Weasleys and how she loves you all and you're all lovely people. Then she explains that she's afraid something may happen to you after the attack on her. Shadow asked if I would do a favour for him and look over the house for her. In return, I could join his team."

"His team?"

"Shadow works for G.U.N.; I don't. He also refused to have me help him; I didn't end up in Britain anyway until an overcomplicated battle strategy fell apart... but that's another story. Anyway, now I've saved you, I can join his quest."

"Quest?"

"Shadow has to defeat Voldermort for closure. But Voldermort wants the Chaos Emeralds. Therefore, Shadow is aiming to get the Emeralds first before he launches any attack."

Harry's head was spinning. There was a lot more to this story than he first thought. Sonic sensed it and continued.

"I'm still out of the loop as well. The only ones who fully know are Shadow and Hermione, and I'm hoping the two of them will be able to explain. I think we've got most of it, but I want to know why the two are together. That's the obvious question that sticks out at me."

"Same," muttered Harry as he glanced up at the increasingly taller buildings; the moon was peeking out from behind the skeletal glass structures, bathing them in an unearthly light. He shivered and returned to stroking Ginny's hair. Sonic looked as if he wanted to speak again, but seemed to think better of it and closed his mouth, returning to staring out of the window. Harry looked at him thoughtfully, before turning to Ginny and closing his eyes as he continued to run his hand through her cherry locks.

000

Shadow and Hermione reached St Mungo's quicker than they had anticipated; it had been a surprisingly pedestrian-free journey from the tube station and now Shadow found himself stood opposite what appeared to be a disused department store, with several rather ugly mannequins in the window, dressed in outlandish clothes. He wondered why they were stood here whilst Hermione leant against the window, apparently talking to one of the mannequins. Shadow was only slightly surprised when the mannequin lifted a finger and beckoned them forward. Guardedly, he moved forward, holding Hermione's hand as she guided him through an apparently solid window and wall.

He emerged in what appeared to be a large basic room, where rows of rickety wooden chairs were lined up. People with various ailments sat there, whilst witches and wizards dressed in green robes swept imperiously down the aisles, taking notes on clipboards and generally making soothing comments. Hermione held onto his hand and pulled him round the edge of the room towards a desk where a bored looking witch sat, twirling her hair with the tip of her wand.

"Yes?" she asked in a monotone, regarding Shadow with a raised eyebrow. "Spell damage?"

"I'm sorry?" replied Hermione, confusedly, looking between the witch and Shadow, who regarded the witch with that neutral expression Hermione was beginning to recognize more often. She had only known Shadow for less than twenty four hours, yet she felt she was able to understand him at a glance. He was saw flawed and yet perfect. She also had a hunch that Shadow would have said she was the same as well. His eyes found hers, and he gave a small smirk.

"He was turned into a black hedgehog by a spell, wasn't he?" the witch asked in an uninterested voice again.

"Actually, he happens to be a black hedgehog normally," interjected Hermione, who was also smirking slightly. "We're here looking for a patient who was probably only brought in recently. Goes by the name of Ronald Weasley."

The witch raised a questioning eyebrow, but turned away and shuffled something under the desk. When she resurfaced, she nodded.

"It's still Spell Damage," she told them irritably. "Fourth floor. You want the Garby Donnington Ward. Right at the end, on the left."

Hermione nodded and, grasping Shadow's hand again, pulled him towards a door near the desk. They entered and found themselves in a stairwell, leading upwards.

"Let's speed things up a bit," Shadow said, grinning, and before Hermione could object, he had picked her up bridal style and sped up the stairs; they reached the fourth floor before she even realized what had happened.

"That was... fast," she managed before she gave a small laugh. Shadow grinned again, but then became solemn.

"Come on," he motioned. "Lead the way. Let's see how your friend is doing."

She gave a small smile, then grasped his hand and led him out into a dark, ill-lit corridor. Along the walls, oil paintings hung with figures flitting between them; Shadow had read about wizard portraits, and since photographs moved, it was hardly a surprise that the canvases were animated too. They were filled with various witches and wizards, some of whom seemed to be sporting gruesome disfigurements. They watched carefully as Hermione and Shadow moved along slowly, before they paused at a large portrait of a fat old man sat in an armchair. He looked up at them and waved gamely. To Shadow, he looked uncannily like a larger version of Eggman.

"You've come for the boy? He's through there. There's only been a few visitors all evening. Came in at the same time."

"Thank you," said Hermione, and without another word, she stepped past the portrait and grasped the handle on its frame. She twisted it clockwise, and pulled it slowly as the door swung open; Shadow had a feeling that the portrait's eyes were following them until the image slipped out of eyesight.

They found themselves on another large, spacious corridor; this one, to Hermione's surprise however, was furnished in a less ornate style. It felt eerily bare, with only a handful of windows pouring dark streetlight in, and strangely Muggle. At the end of the corridor was a set of double doors, to which the pair headed towards. They reached them, and Shadow paused briefly before he pushed one open for Hermione to pass through.

The two entered into another rather modern room; it wouldn't have looked out of place in a modern Muggle hospital either. Instead of candlelight, orbs of bright white had been pinned to the wall and the roof in what appeared to be steel torch brackets. There was another door at the far end, presumably leading to the Healer's office, and in the ward itself, there was six beds, three on each side.

Four figures were grouped around the only occupied bed, at the far end of the ward on the right. One with black hair turned as they entered and Hermione's eyes locked onto Harry's.

She did not speak; she did not need to. Instead, she simply ran across the room towards him. He embraced her as she hit him and began to sob into his shoulder. He held her, and whispered something into her ear. She gave a small shudder and he continued to soothe her.

Shadow watched the pair, until he saw Sonic detach himself from the huddle around the bed and walk towards him. He appeared to by unscratched, although his fur looked distinctly ruffled. As he walked nearer, he noticed blood on the shoes.

"I thought killing was against your moral standard," Shadow murmured as Sonic turned and stood next to him.

"Eh, self-defence" replied Sonic quietly. "The blood is from when young Harry made one of them throw up their entrails.

Shadow turned, with a look of surprise. "He did _what_?"

"He wasn't happy about doing it. Threw up a few moments after."

Shadow looked at Harry impassively for a few moments; Sonic could not tell what he was thinking. Eventually, he turned back to the blue hedgehog, and Harry could see that his eyes seemed to have lost some of their usual coldness.

"War isn't happy, Sonic. And that's what these kids are about to get themselves into."

Sonic nodded slowly, then began to walk back towards the bed. After a moment's hesitation, Shadow followed, walking slowly as they approached the knot of people. As he approached, the two figures at the bedside, both with flaming red hair, turned to look at him. One was a tall, lanky male, with his long hair pulled back into a ponytail at one side, and what appeared to be a fang dangling from his earlobe. The other was a girl, considerably short, only slightly taller than Shadow himself; her hair was tangled and dishevelled and she appeared to have recently stopped crying, with tear tracks still visible on her lightly freckled face.

Hermione and the boy with black hair who Shadow knew to be Harry broke away and walked to the bed as Shadow reached the side. He took a moment to study the young man. His black hair was messy and mid length, his skin was light but speckled with dirt and blood, and he had emerald green eyes, just like Sonic, that seemed to go right through him. He also had a curiously shaped scar on his forehead, like a lightning bolt, although it was partially hidden by his loose fringe.

For a moment, there was silence whilst Shadow stared at Harry and Harry stared at Shadow. Hermione looked nervously between the two; Ginny regarded Shadow with apprehension; Bill was looking intently at Harry; and Sonic was whistling softly.

Surprisingly, it was Ron who broke the tension.

"I thought one big blue talking hedgehog was alright, but two is just pushing the limits of my sanity."

"You aren't losing your mind, Mr Weasley," observed Shadow, breaking away from Harry and looking at the figure in the bed. "There are two big talking hedgehogs at your bedside. I'm Shadow, Shadow the Hedgehog."

Ron shook his head. "Never heard of you, mate. Sorry 'bout that."

Shadow smiled wryly. "That's perfectly understandable. I'm not a recognizable figure in pureblood circles."

"You will be after your performance against the Death Eaters," remarked Harry. Shadow twisted back round to face him. "Wizards take notice of people who kill criminals if they are not officially sanctioned."

Shadow looked at Sonic, frowning slightly. "I was under the impression that killing Death Eaters would only bring good press, Harry Potter."

Harry gave a small snort. "It brings press, certainly. But the media is still going to try and alter the story; glorify it. It is Death Eater supporters who run the whole system. Breaking it isn't that easy."

Hermione and Sonic both saw by the way Shadow's red eyes seemed to deepen to a blood red shade that he was potentially going to lose his cool. Hermione had never seen Shadow lose control; he had only looked like this when discussing his life. Sonic, on the other hand, could remember that murderous glare from his past; from when Shadow had stood over him on Prison Island, preparing to put a hole through his head with a Chaos Spear.

It was because of this that Sonic had the grace to interrupt before Shadow said something that he may regret.

"Anyway," he said, staring between the two dangerously; Shadow's eyes returned to their normal colour, Harry seemed to shrink back slightly although he still regarded Shadow with a certain level of mistrust, and Hermione relaxed. "Harry, this is my frien... acquaintance, Shadow. Shadow, this is Harry Potter."

"I was aware of that," muttered Shadow, turning to Sonic and giving him a look of annoyance; Hermione suspected it was because Sonic had nearly referred to him as a friend rather than the fact he had stopped an argument at Ron's bedside.

"And now you're more aware," Sonic countered coolly. Shadow eventually sighed in exasperation and turned back to looking at Hermione. However, she was looking at Harry, who in turn was looking back at Shadow, a dark outline under his eyes.

"Um, Shadow?" asked Ginny. He started in surprise at another voice entering the conversation.

"Yes, Miss Weasley?" he replied, keeping his surprisingly formal etiquette in his speech; Maria had taught him to address people he was unfamiliar with like this.

"How did you come to be in the UK?" she asked. Shadow looked at Hermione, who nodded.

"There all secure, if you want to tell them," she said, although she looked slightly uncomfortable. "But not everything please. I'm going to go talk to Harry outside."

Harry looked away from Shadow apprehensively. "What?"

"Outside," she said, pointing to the door. "Now."

Harry looked as if he was going to argue, but he seemed to decide against it. He leant over and gave Ron a nudge, who nodded with a strangely fearful look in his eyes, before he looked at Sonic and then Shadow. He kept his eyes locked on the hedgehog, until he moved passed him, heading for the exit. Shadow did not turn around to watch them leave; instead, he waited until he heard the door close behind before starting to speak to Ginny and Bill who were listening with rapt attention.

Sonic meanwhile leant over to Ron.

"You alright, kid? You look worried."

"I am," he replied simply, his eyes fixed on the door. "If Harry's managed to upset her, she won't be happy. I should know; I've spent five years being shouted at about it by her."

Outside, Hermione had fixed Harry with a cold stare. He did not flinch, as he had been fixed with many a cold stare in his time, although admittedly they were scarier when coming from the young woman in front of him.

"Don't antagonize him," she said quietly, although there was an absolute force in her voice that brokered no argument. "Just don't antagonize him."

"I'm not trying to antagonize him, I'm simply telling him fact, Hermione," Harry replied snappily. "I don't know how much knowledge he has of our world, but he can't go around bringing attention to himself."

"He was saving my life, Harry!" Hermione replied, her voice becoming shrill; she realized it and quietened again. "He was saving my life. It's not my fault or his that two Death Eaters were there, and that Skeeter also happened to be in the vicinity at the time. It may seem like coincidence, but we all seem to be fate's bitch at the moment!"

Harry registered with shock that Hermione had used a derogatory term. She wasn't one to swear, unless she meant it. Obviously, angering Shadow seemed to push her buttons as well as the hedgehog's. He started to speak, but Hermione cut across him.

"Save it, Harry. I don't want to hear anything else. I know that you nearly just got murdered and I feel bad that I wasn't there with you, but there is no reason to act hostile to Shadow before he's even spoke to you. He's had just as hard a life as you have; maybe even more so, as he's spent most of it in prison."

Harry stared back at Hermione, feeling slightly unjust. He must have looked hurt somewhat, as Hermione's fierce glare softened somewhat and she pulled him back into another hug.

"I don't mean to be angry at you, Harry. But we need to work together and not make new enemies. I trust Shadow. I know you think it's too soon, but saving lives does that. Look how I ended up with you and Ron."

"True," Harry murmured. "And we'd be dead if it wasn't for you, no question."

"And I'd be dead if it wasn't for Shadow," she replied quietly. "It comes full circle."

Harry lifted his arms and returned the hug, fastening round Hermione. "I'm sorry, Hermione. He just seems... mistrustful. As if he doesn't care for anyone else, besides you and Sonic."

"That's probably an accurate description at the moment," she answered softly, releasing him. "But make the effort, and he will befriend you. And deep down, he just wants to be loved."

She opened the door slightly back into the ward. "After you," she told him. He nodded at her and complied, heading back in, with Hermione close behind him. No-one had moved from the bedside, although to her surprise, Shadow and Ginny seemed to be entrenched in conversation. Ron was watching with an incredulous expression on his face and Bill and Sonic were staring at the redhead in the bed with a level of satisfaction, as if pleased that he seemed to be recovering.

"Hold up, mate," Ron cut across Shadow. "You fought a great big _demonic_ beast? That could fly?"

"Well, when he says _fight_, he meant that he kind of _ran_ into it repeatedly in the blind hope it might lose its balance," Sonic interrupted, drawing a laugh from the Weasleys; even Shadow gave a small grin.

"Remember Sonic, _you_ were incapacitated by nerve toxin at this point, so at least I was _able_ to move in combat," he returned, smirking. Sonic simply smiled as Ron stopped laughing in order to stop his ribs from hurting.

"Still got out though, didn't I?"

"Only because I _killed_ the bastard," Shadow replied smartly, a look of superiority on his features. Sonic had to admit that Shadow could certainly do overconfident like he did moody. They may have been his only emotions for all he knew.

"Point taken," he admitted. "But I would've found my own way out. We probably would have used Eggman's carcass as a shield."

"That's not an appealing thought," Shadow replied, giving an exaggerated shudder. "Any use of Eggman's carcass is an unappealing thought."

"Sorry to interrupt," Harry said, trying to be more polite towards Shadow. "But how did you end up meeting Doctor Eggman?"

Shadow turned to Harry and looked at him. For a moment, it was an icy stare, but it softened as the eyes locked onto each other again. He could sense that having been dressed down, the young wizard was making an effort; he decided to be civil as well, for Hermione's sake.

"I first met him on Prison Island, when he recruited me to gather the Chaos Emeralds and lead him to the ARK," he answered slowly. "Since then, we've had a number of run-ins, and my amnesia has left me with a chequered history with the man." He turned to Sonic who was scratching his arm. "But the blue hedgehog knows him better."

"My first encounter?"" Sonic moved his hand to his ear and scratched behind it. "Eh, about six...? No, seven years ago. Just before Christmas , 1989. He was in a factory in... Venezuela, I think. Or Chile. Anyway, it was south of the Federation. I was simply running around dealing with petty crime, vigilante-style when I came across a group of robots. Small, simple little things, shaped like animals. Somewhere called the Green Hill region, or something similar. Fought him again there eighteen months later, when he hadn't got the hint to stop at what he was doing." He leant back against the side of the bed. "Been at it more or less constantly since then. If anything, it's more of an intense rivalry than anything. Compared to some of the terror groups and militia out there, Eggman's tame. He's got the numbers, but they go about in the wrong way. There the most civilized villains I've ever seen; better than the politicians, at any rate."

"Still, he's not got the hints you'll always be there to stop him yet," Bill pointed out. "How smart is the guy?"

"IQ of 300," replied Sonic plainly. "Highest IQ ever recorded, known fact. I measure at around 135, and the only people higher than me I know are Shadow, Tails and Espio. One's immortal, one's a ninja and one's a boy genius, so I feel pretty inadequate."

Hermione's eyes were wide. "_300_?"

"Yep," replied Shadow. "Eggman worked for the Federation Government in the seventies, which is when he was tested. It's over twenty years at any rate since he was. Brilliant scientist and theorist, Eggman. Just his moral compass isn't pointing the way it should."

"You can't say that yours is either," Sonic added. Shadow gave him an irritated look.

"I'm better now," he replied, looking pointedly at Hermione. She blushed slightly and looked back at Harry who had moved round next to Sonic.

"Why hasn't Eggman been arrested yet?"

"That's a good question," Shadow answered before Sonic could reply. "We've applied to the United Nations, and they haven't given G.U.N. clearance. Suspiciously, it's the countries south of the Federation that are blocking movement; we suspect Eggman still has links with insurgents and dictator-led governments down there. To get rid of Eggman, we'd probably have to instigate a complete reshuffle of government down there, and whilst several of them are breaking Human Rights codes, G.U.N. is yet to mount an attack. We're trying diplomacy, but it isn't working. And until the South falls out of Eggman's grasp, we can't touch him legally, unless he was to start an official invasion."

"What about all of these takeover attempts he's made before?" Harry continued, glad that Shadow seemed to have not been angered by his general attitude earlier. "Surely they must count for something."

"He's never declared open conflict before. Thereby, he's navigating all of these legal loopholes for his arrest. He's a clever bastard, I'll give him –"

"You swore!" Sonic cried in mock outrage; Shadow ignored him and continued.

"I'll give him that. So legally, we can only touch him with a United Nations approved exercise, which South America is blocking. Or maybe the Canadians." He turned to Sonic. "Do you know if he has any links to the Canadians? Omega thinks he does."

"Omega's a homicidal robot. He'd tell you that Eggman had links to the mermaids, the whales, the undead and _Princess Diana_ if he thought he had any evidence," Sonic remarked in a cutting voice.

"Yeah, we'll rule the Canadians out then," remarked Shadow as he turned back to Harry. "But that's the gist of it. Eggman's legally untouchable, unless he officially declares war on a foreign country."

"I don't really follow the law though," Sonic added. "Hence why I fight him. He hits me, I hit him, the UN can't get either of us."

"I'm glad I'm a witch," Ginny said faintly. "This Muggle law sounds crazy."

The doors at the end of the ward suddenly burst open. Hermione jumped and jerked instinctively closer, not to Harry, but to Shadow. The motion did not go unnoticed be either, but they both remained wordless as they turned to face the newcomer.

A man stood in the doorway, silhouetted against the lights from the corridor. He was tall, with a hook nose, and a pale skin tone, bordering on a pallid white. His black greasy hair hung limply like curtains, framing his narrow face. Black eyes roamed the room and settled on Harry. It took a moment for him to realize that one of the last men he had expected had suddenly burst into the ward.

Severus Snape.

At once, rage boiled up inside Harry; he felt it rise in his throat like bile. Stood only metres away from him was a man who he had spent the last month blaming as being a major contributing factor in the death of his godfather. Even though Dumbledore had made it clear that it was not Snape's fault for the incidents that had passed, Harry still felt a certain degree of harsh satisfaction from blaming the potions master; Snape himself did not do anything to dispel the notion that he was a complete bastard in his eyes.

Snape looked at Harry expressionlessly, then swept forward, striding with an almost arrogant cool towards the bed. Harry noticed Hermione shift slightly closer to Shadow again whilst Sonic moved more forward, as if he was ready to counter an attack.

Snape reached the bed; it was at this point that he appeared to notice that there were two anthropomorphic hedgehogs wearing gloves and sneakers also present. He only raised an eyebrow, betraying no other emotion.

"I must confess, I didn't expect to find the supersonic hedgehogs in St. Mungo's," he began in a flat voice, one that Harry detested with every fibre of his body. "I didn't even know that they were aware of our existence."

"Well, you do now," Sonic replied tersely; he could tell from the way that Harry stood with his fists balled up and a sudden expression of vengeance that Snape was probably not on amiable terms with his new friends. It was something he had learnt through careful observation of Shadow and Knuckles.

"Obviously," Snape said icily, drawing out each syllable; they seemed to hang in the air seconds after they had been pronounced. It had a deeply unsettling effect on Shadow, as if there was an echo that lasted for millennia simply from the man's voice. "But it does not matter who is here. I have more important things to pass. I have a message for you, Mr. Potter."

Harry started in surprise, roused from his intense hate. "You've been sent to deliver a message?"

"Not a message to ignore either," Snape replied shortly. "A message from Dumbledore."

"What?" answered Harry, suddenly his interest piqued. "What is it?"

"Dumbledore. He's dying."

* * *

><p>AN: So, there we are! The introductions are out of the way, the heroes have met, and Snape has turned up to deliver shocking news! I know it may seem a bit weak as a cliffhanger, and I've been suffering really bad writer's block with this and the next chapter, which deals with Harry and Dumbledore discussing Voldermort's horcruxes on the latter's death bed. I know where I want this story to go, and have a very detailed plan, but it's just getting over these scenes; I don't want the story to be bogged down by some poor quality in the upcoming sections, plus I need to make studious reference to HBP. Just because I'm deviating from canon does not mean that events will not happen: Voldermort has already made all of the horcruxes, so there will be no sudden scenes where we discover he has another, or it's actually a suede shoe rather than a locket. And, if you been paying attention, you may notice that there's going to be two seperate quests being undertaken... So, stay tuned, and I will hopefully return before everyone goes away due to boredom!


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